Steelworkers, manufacturing experts, legislators and steelmakers from around the country are in Washington D.C. this week to testify about the impact overcapacity and trade policies have had on the U.S. steel industry.
Approximately 60 witnesses will testify Tuesday and Wednesday at the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Commerce Department hearing “Policy Recommendations on the Global Steel Industry Situation and Impact on U.S. Steel Industry and Market” (USTR-2016-001).
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul hopes representatives will understand that American steel is, in fact, facing an imports crisis. “Global steel overcapacity has reached astronomical levels, 700 million metric tons (mmt)," he said. "To put that in perspective, global overcapacity is more than seven times total U.S. production.”
The United States has one of the most open steel markets in the world. China and other countries wreak havoc on American workers and companies by selling their products in the United States far below fair market value. Between 2000 and 2014, Chinese crude steel production surged 540 percent, and China's mills have continued overproduction, despite waning domestic demand.
As a result, more than 13,500 American steelworkers are currently holding layoff notices, according to Leo Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW).
“Statistics and an academic discussion of free trade can’t be allowed to mask the pain that has been inflicted on too many hard-working Americans and their families by unfair trade practices and trade policies that have essentially ignored the impact of trade on real people,” Gerard said.
Daniel Simmons, president of United Steelworkers Local 1899 and a steelworker from U.S. Steel Granite City Works in Granite City, Illinois, has felt the direct effect of the United States’ current trade policies. His plant recently laid off 1,500 people and the whole community feels the impact, he said.
“I can’t stop anywhere in town, or even in the surrounding communities, without being asked about when the Granite City Works will start back up,” Simmons said. “They have gone through so much uncertainty and stress over the past two years as we’ve wrestled with the onslaught of dumped steel, and things are only getting worse.”
Despite recent talk by China of reducing its overcapacity, American steelmakers have yet to see any meaningful action. Meanwhile, China’s overcapacity continues to spread into other sectors, including aluminum and iron.
“We need to think bigger and go beyond the ‘whack-a-mole’ approach of defending against unfair trade practices," Paul said. "We need proactive approaches that don’t just provide relief after significant damage has occurred. And until we do, our steelmakers will continue to struggle."