Letter to Meredith Broadbent, Chairman of the International Trade Commission - Protect Steel Producers from Unfair Foreign Trade Practices

Letter

Dear Chairman Broadbent:

We are writing to express support for the U.S. steel reinforcing bar ("rebar") producers and their workers, and to encourage the International Trade Commission to ensure that foreign subsidies and dumping are prevented from causing additional injury to an already weakened industry.

As the Commission is aware, rebar is used primarily by the construction industry to strengthen concrete structures and is an essential component of American infrastructure. The domestic industry should be benefitting from the modest recovery in construction demand in the wake of the recession. Instead, the industry has faced a continuous onslaught of unfairly traded imports which has had a negative impact on rebar producers and their families.

Since 2010, these imports have flooded the U.S. market at the direct expense of U.S. producers, who have seen their share of the market drop dramatically. Capacity utilization rates are at historically low levels -- near 60 percent -- and production levels have yet to recover from the recession. Profitability has collapsed and returns on investment have been inadequate. Indeed, conditions have deteriorated to such an extent that some U.S. producers have been forced to close production, while others have had to lay off workers, slash hours, and cut pay to stay afloat.

The U.S. rebar industry is a major segment of the U.S. steel industry with over seven million tons of production a year. The industry employs thousands of direct rebar workers in several dozen states, and supports tens of thousands of additional jobs throughout the country. These jobs are in jeopardy.

On behalf of the U.S. rebar industry and the workers and their families who depend on the full and fair enforcement of our trade laws for their survival, we urge you to give careful consideration to their arguments regarding investigations involving Turkey and Mexico. It is essential that foreign subsidies and dumping be addressed in order to prevent further harm to the U.S. rebar industry and the unwarranted loss of American jobs.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration of this critical issue.