[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 10 (Monday, March 11, 2002)]
[Page 355]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Decision To Impose Temporary Safeguards To Help the 
Domestic Steel Industry

March 5, 2002

    Free trade is an important engine of economic growth and a 
cornerstone of my economic agenda. My administration has successfully 
launched new global trade talks, reignited the movement for free trade 
within our own hemisphere, and helped bring China and Taiwan into the 
World Trade Organization. To open even more markets to American 
products, I have urged the Senate to grant me the trade promotion 
authority I need to create jobs and greater opportunities for U.S. 
workers and farmers.
    An integral part of our commitment to free trade is our commitment 
to enforcing trade laws to make sure that America's industries and 
workers compete on a level playing field. Free trade should not mean lax 
enforcement. Consistent with this commitment, last June I launched a 
three-part initiative designed to restore market forces to world steel 
markets. This initiative includes international discussion to encourage 
the reduction of excess global steel capacity and negotiations to 
eliminate market-distorting subsidies that led to the current glut of 
capacity. I also called upon the United States International Trade 
Commission (ITC) to investigate the impact of imports on the U.S. steel 
industry under section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act. The ITC subsequently 
found that increased steel imports are a substantial cause of serious 
injury to our domestic industry.
    Today I am announcing my decision to impose temporary safeguards to 
help give America's steel industry and its workers the chance to adapt 
to the large influx of foreign steel. This relief will help 
steelworkers, communities that depend on steel, and the steel industry 
adjust without harming our economy.
    These safeguards are expressly sanctioned by the rules of the World 
Trade Organization, which recognizes that sometimes imports can cause 
such serious harm to domestic industries that temporary restraints are 
warranted. This is one of those times.
    I take this action to give our domestic steel industry an 
opportunity to adjust to surges in foreign imports, recognizing the harm 
from 50 years of foreign government intervention in the global steel 
market, which has resulted in bankruptcies, serious dislocation, and job 
loss. We also must continue to urge our trading partners to eliminate 
global inefficient excess capacity and market-distorting practices, such 
as subsidies.
    The U.S. steel industry must use the temporary help today's action 
provides to restructure and ensure its long-term competitiveness. 
Restructuring will impact workers and the communities in which they 
live, and we must help hard-working Americans adapt to changing economic 
circumstances. I have proposed a major expansion of the National 
Emergency Grants program to assist workers affected by restructuring 
with effective job training and assistance. I have also proposed direct 
assistance with health insurance costs that will be available to workers 
and retirees who lose their employer-provided coverage. And I support 
coordinated assistance for communities and a strengthened and expanded 
Trade Adjustment Assistance program. America's workers are the most 
highly skilled in the world, and with effective training and adjustment 
assistance we will help them find better, higher paying jobs to support 
their families and boost our economy.