[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H8080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE STEEL IMPORT CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing a concurrent resolution 
today, along with 76 of my colleagues as original cosponsors, which 
calls on the Administration to take all necessary measures to respond 
to the surge of steel imports resulting from the financial crises 
occurring in Asia, Russia and in other areas of the world.
  In two briefings held last Thursday and today, the Congressional 
Steel Caucus heard from top executives of the large integrated steel 
companies, from the President of the United Steelworkers of America and 
top executives of other steel industry sectors. The news is not good. 
Steel imports are pouring into the United States at very low prices and 
are threatening the existence of the U.S. steel industry and the jobs 
of persons working in this important industry. And I should remind 
everyone that every job in the steel industry also supports numerous 
jobs in terms of suppliers and downstream industries.
  We should not be faced with this situation--the U.S. steel industry 
and its workers have sacrificed over the last decade and have invested 
heavily to make this industry the most competitive in the world. Demand 
for steel is high and the industry is lean and competitive. But the 
industry and the jobs of its workers are being threatened by unfairly 
priced and unfairly traded steel imports.
  Between June of 1997 and June of 1998, steel imports to the U.S. from 
Russia increased 45.8 percent; from Korea, 89.5 percent; from Japan, 
113 percent; and from Indonesia, 308 percent. There are indications 
that these import figures will grow even larger in the third quarter of 
1998.
  We are asking that the Administration take the following immediate 
actions to help stem these injurious imports: (1) to pursue enhanced 
enforcement of U.S. trade laws to protect the domestic steel industry 
and its jobs; (2) to pursue all available remedies to ensure a more 
equitable sharing by other nations of the burden of accepting these 
imports; (3) to establish a task force to closely monitor steel imports 
into the U.S.; and (4) to report to Congress by January 5, 1999 on a 
comprehensive plan for responding to this import crisis.
  We cannot stand by and lose this vital U.S. industry and these 
important jobs as foreign nations attempt to export their way out of 
their own economic woes.

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