[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 24, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S3927]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            FOREIGN DUMPING

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, I wish to speak about the importance 
of a level playing field for Minnesotan miners and American steel. My 
State's iron ore mines and the thousands of Minnesota jobs they support 
are the backbone of the Iron Range. It started in the days when miners 
like my grandfather worked in the underground mines with picks and 
shovels and continues today in open-pit mines with giant electric 
shovels and haul trucks.
  Through the generations, these Minnesotans have earned a reputation 
for possessing a strong work ethic. They have proven that our miners on 
the range can compete with anybody in the world on a level playing 
field. Unfortunately, that fairness is being compromised by foreign 
trading practices that are putting steelworker jobs in jeopardy.
  The U.S. Department of Commerce is currently investigating the 
trading practices of countries that are dumping steel products in the 
U.S. market. This flood of foreign oil country tubular--OCTG--goods is 
causing our Nation's steel industry to lose sales and market to 
underpriced foreign competitors. An example is South Korea, which is 
the world's largest steel industry but has no domestic OCTG market. The 
result is Korean producers exporting more to the United States, 
creating a drop in the price of steel.
  While the U.S. demand for OCTG products is increasing, American 
producers are not seeing the benefits. In fact, they are losing sales 
to foreign competitors, with imports of OCTG doubling since 2008 and 
increased by 61 percent this year compared to the previous year. This 
is already having an impact in American facilities with reduced hours 
and the threat of layoffs for workers.
  Dumping of steel products has nationwide economic implications. The 
OCTG steel produced for the U.S. energy market accounts for 
approximately 10 percent of domestic steel production. U.S. OCTG 
producers directly employ nearly 8,000 workers across the country, and 
every one of those jobs in turn supports another 7 jobs in the supply 
chain. Here in Minnesota, where the steelmaking process begins, there 
are more than 10,000 high-quality, steel-related jobs.
  That is why I recently joined 58 of my colleagues in sending a 
bipartisan letter to the Secretary of Commerce expressing concern at 
the antidumping investigation of OCTG imports from South Korea. The 
letter asks the administration to more closely examine these imports 
for any misrepresentations in origin and nature of the products and to 
take action against any unfair dumping practices.
  We all know our industries need to be competitive--but they also need 
to be competing on fair terms. It is critical that our trade laws serve 
as the last line of defense for American companies and workers. I will 
continue fighting to ensure that we have a level playing field for this 
Minnesota industry vital to the economic prosperity of our State.

                          ____________________