Ehrlich on Washington column, September 21, 1998

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 2 1 093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of September 21, 1998 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. FIGHTING FOR THE U.S. STEEL INDUSTRY Since coming to Congress, I have taken a great interest in the protection and growth of jobs at the Bethlehem Steel facilities at Sparrows Point. On a local level, I met with union workers at Beth Steel and supported efforts to expand and modernize production when possible. On a national level, I have pursued this interest by joining the Congressional Steel Caucus. This informal group of like-minded legislators meets periodically to focus on issues relating to the health and viability of America’s steel industry. Recently, my colleagues and I in the Steel Caucus conducted hearings on a trend that potentially will cause irreparable harm to our steel industry. During my visits to the Beth Steel plant, I have met many workers who remember the hard times the steel industry went through in the 1980s. As a result of painful employee downsizing and the streamlining of steel production, the American steel industry (and Bethlehem Steel) emerged as the most efficient and most competitive steel producers in the world. This modernization effort has led to the output of steel at historic levels that make us the envy of our global competitors. Fair competition in global steel markets, however, is contingent upon foreign countries playing by established trade rules. These rules, in the form of U.S. and International trade agreements, prohibit many anti-competitive practices, most notably the exportation of severely underpriced steel. While the U.S. maintains the most open trade markets in the world, there are