REMEDY SELECTION FOR THE 201 STEEL INVESTIGATION -- HON. SONNY CALLAHAN (Extensions of Remarks - February 27, 2002)

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HON. SONNY CALLAHAN OF ALABAMA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Speaker, within the next few days the President will make a decision on the appropriate course of action in response to the International Trade Commission (ITC) findings on steel imports. I am grateful to the President for addressing this matter and hope he will stay the course on the issue of steel imports and keeping our trading partners interested in negotiations on global overcapacity reductions.

Steel is an important part of the economy in Alabama. There are over 20,000 jobs directly tied to steel in our state. Alabama is home to some of the most efficient steel makers in the world. A mill in my district can turn scrap into high grade steel in a matter of hours. It can supply steel for ship building as well as a number of other products from street lights to bridges.

All the steel companies in the U.S. are suffering. The accepted reason for this downturn is the overproduction of steel world-wide. The ITC and our trading partners agree there is a real problem. Everyone recognizes that global over capacity is the root cause, and we are meeting with other steel producing nations to do something about it.

But the solution will take years to develop, and in the meantime the open borders of the U.S. are drawing a lot of this overcapacity and damaging our domestic industry. In the short run we need to stabilize the domestic market, while continuing global trade talks.

A four-year time out, is not a lot of time to correct this situation. The steel industry has asked for a four-year tariff starting at 40 percent. Each year that tariff will be reduced. This tariff will do two things, first it will send a message that we are very serious about this problem, and second it will demonstrate that these trade talks are not for show. I am reasonably certain that the talks would not be so well attended without the threat of tariffs.

This tariff will allow the U.S. market to stabilize and provide time to see if these global talks will bear fruit. The President should provide this assistance, which is perfectly legal under the WTO, and which is necessary to bring some stability to the steel markets.

The U.S. steel industry underpins our basic manufacturing base. We need to be very careful about allowing an industry that is so essential to our infrastructure and security to be unjustly damaged. I hope the President will do the right thing and use the tools provided in the WTO to give some breathing room to the domestic industry. I will support him in a strong action.
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