Steel Industry

CHICAGO -- In a decision that will cheer domestic steel producers but disappoint U.S. manufacturers that buy steel to make their products, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted yesterday to extend anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled steel imported from China and five other countries. The fight over the import duties on hot-rolled steel is the latest flash point between the U.S. steel industry and domestic steel consumers. The domestic steel industry argues that U.S. steelmakers need protection, in the form of anti-dumping and countervailing duties, from low-cost steel imports from China and other countries that don't abide by U.S. trade rules.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. steelmakers struck back this week against a push by the six largest automakers that assemble vehicles in the United States to end tariffs on certain types of imported steel. They warned that thousands of steel-making jobs could be at risk if the tariffs are lifted. The U.S. International Trade Commission will hear arguments as to whether tariffs on corrosion-resistant steel from six countries should end. The tariffs have been in place since 1993, after the steel industry accused foreign producers of dumping their products in the United States.

In a move that cheered automakers but angered domestic steel producers, the U.S. International Trade Commission yesterday eliminated most of its controversial tariffs on carbon-steel imports. The independent federal agency's ruling ends an unusual, high-profile feud between two American smokestack industries battered by global competition, Big Steel and its major customer, the auto industry. The commission's action will lower the price auto companies pay for steel and bring a similar benefit to other major steel buyers, such as implement makers Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co. Those same lower steel prices promise to pressure profits at many American steel producers.

WASHINGTON -- American steelmakers, stunned by a federal commission's ruling last week that eliminated many tariffs on imported steel and knocked $1.1 billion off the value of their stocks in 90 minutes, began a broad campaign this week to reverse the decision.Led by major companies such as Bethlehem Steel Corp., LTV Steel Company Inc. and USX Corp., the domestic industry is putting pressure on Congress, the White House and the International Trade Commission.It wants the commission to vote again on its tariff decisions, is asking the White House to replace a commissioner who voted RTC against the American steelmakers and is urging Congress to review the rulings soon.

Three years ago, the purchase of the Sparrows Point steel mill by OAO Severstal was greeted with considerable cheer. After all, the one thing the Russian steelmaker could provide would surely be stable ownership after all the uncertainty of the ArcelorMittal takeover and the Bethlehem Steel bankruptcy. Of course, what wasn't so obvious in March 2008 was how far the U.S. and global economies would fall in the economic recession, and the hardship that would cause the steel industry.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland is a prime target of a last-ditch bid to win Senate approval for oil drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge, with supporters offering in return to help pay health care costs of steel-industry retirees. Supporters hope to secure the backing of a half-dozen or so steel-state Democrats, including Mikulski, before the Senate votes on the highly contentious proposal to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The vote is expected late next week.

A year after President Bush imposed tariffs on imported steel, the controversial move continues to evoke sharp criticism as well as unwavering support from steelmakers, manufacturers and industry experts. Steelmakers applaud the tariffs for helping to shore up domestic steel prices over the past year, encourage consolidation in a troubled industry, and dissuade foreign nations from flooding the U.S. market with cheaper steel. But many steel consumers argue that the tariffs have caused economic hardship among manufacturers, and forced them to pay higher prices for steel that goes into their products.

What Bethlehem Steel has accomplished during the past decade in transforming its Sparrows Point plant into one of the most modern and efficient mills in the world is truly impressive and a huge boon to the Baltimore economy. Without Bethlehem's $1 billion-plus investment and its conversion to continuous casting, the Point might have been forced to close. The 6,000 jobs on its shrunken payroll would no longer exist.How much Sparrows Point's survival is due to the steel industry's marked ability to secure government protection from foreign competition is a matter of conjecture, but we consider it an important factor.

With a flood of foreign steel threatening to sweep away the U.S. steel industry, congressional lawmakers yesterday introduced legislation that they say would better protect American farmers and companies from the harm wrought by surging - and sometimes illegally priced - imports. Congressional leaders say the legislation wasn't composed with only American steelmakers in mind, but the proposed reforms come at a troubled juncture for the nation's steel industry: Eighteen domestic producers have sought bankruptcy protection since the end of 1997, according to one study, and several have failed.

With all the screaming and scandal and nonsense over a possible casino at National Harbor, has no one asked how many casinos we need here in Maryland ("Baltimore casino names manager," Sept. 26)? Once upon a time this nation produced products that could be sold for profit and the generation of tax dollars. Today, while politicians allow the steel industry in Maryland and across America to die, they fall all over themselves building casinos that generate no products and rely on income earned in other lines of work.