Ehrlich on Washington column, April 9, 2001

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Week of April 9, 2001 Strengthening the Steel Industry: New Opportunities with a New Administration During the economic expansion of the 1990's, I worked to bring new industries and jobs to the 2nd Congressional District. I also paid close attention to the Bethlehem Steel facilities at Sparrows Point. Whether meeting with local union members or testifying before the International Trade Commission, issues effecting Maryland’s steel industry have been a top priority of my six plus years in office. Many Beth Steel workers remember the difficult years during the 1980's. As a result of painful corporate downsizing and streamlining of the steel production process, the American steel industry (and Bethlehem Steel) emerged as the most efficient and competitive steel producer in the world. Our steel exports became competitive and most employees kept their jobs. This modernization effort can be seen most recently in the Sparrows Point cold-rolled steel mill, which is part of more than $600 million invested in Sparrows Point since 1 997. The current domestic steel industry crisis is primarily attributable to the continuing flood of imports that has undercut the pricing of U.S. production. The facts are clear. Steel prices have plummeted because of the massive surge of dumped and subsidized imports caused largely by financial crisis in various regions of the world. The Russians, Koreans, and Brazilians, for example, have consistently off loaded their exports on our shores, resulting in tremendous declines in sales for U.S. steel producers. In order to bring this important issue to the Clinton Administration’s attention, I cosponsored legislation in the 1 06th Congress that would have imposed a 5-year quota on steel imports. Further, I testified before the International Trade Commission in support of cases brought against foreign steel producers seeking to stop illegal steel dumping, defined as the shipment of bulk steel products to the U.S. without an identified buyer. This year, some members of Congress are supporting H.R. 808, the Steel Revitalization Act. This legislation attempts to address the flood of illegal steel imports by: (1) imposing 5-year quotas on all steel imports to pre-crisis levels, and; (2) imposing a 1 .5% surcharge on the sale of steel in the U.S. with revenues deposited in a Steelworker Retiree Health Care Trust Fund. It is expected that H.R. 808 will have enormous difficulty moving through the House and enjoy little support in the Senate.