US senators address trade policy at AISI meeting

At the annual meeting of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) in Washington, DC, Senators JD Vance and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Senator Amy Klobachar of Minnesota all addressed the impact of what Brown called “bad trade policy”, Kallanish reports from the event.

Brown’s legislative efforts include Playing Field Act 2.0 and the Competes Act of 2022. JD Vance addressed not “leapfrogging” multiple steps to progressing towards cleaner steel. Senator Klobachar addressed a meeting with Lourenco Goncalves of Cleveland-Cliffs regarding the overwhelming number of steel imports stifling the market back in 2015.

Each of the politicians directly addressed the essential importance of enforcing 232 trade tariffs in the US. Deemed illegal by the World Trade Organization, 232 measures sought to curb surges of inexpensive steel products entering the US and undercutting domestic mill prices.

The speakers each vowed to uphold the enforcement of 232 tariffs for promoting American manufacturing.

Brown shared his belief that even steel products finished in the US should not uniformly be allowed to pass the Buy American buying standards that the Federal Government has implemented as part of its procurement strategy.

Trade law, dumping, import enforcement and funding to support steel industry trade cases resonated through the crowd at the AISI meeting.

Kristen DiLandro USA