Steel Trade

摘要

The American steel industry, under attack from all sides by cheaper products manufactured by foreign competitors, is pinning its survival hopes on a tariff program instituted by President Bush 18 months ago. Accepting ecommendations of the International Trade Commission, Bush put in place protective tariffs on steel imports following an investigation under Section 201 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974. The import steel restrictions, expected to be in effect for three years, through March 2005, were placed on a variety of steel imports with tariffs ranging from 8 percent to 30 percent. The president also set a tariff rate quota of 5.4 million short tons of semi-finished slabs that can enter the U.S. duty-free each year. An indication of how deeply the industry has been affected by foreign steel imports is the latest report showing that at least 35 steel mills shut down or declared bankruptcy in the five-year period from 1997. Only two days before Bush announced his protective tariffs, National Steel Corp., blaming low foreign steel prices, filed for bankruptcy in South Bend, Ind. Bethlehem Steel Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in 2001, announced last May that it had completed the sale of substantially all of its assets to International Steel Group (ISG) for cash, ISG Class B common stock and the assumption of certain liabilities.