Commerce Dept. Warns of Impacts of Steel Imports on National Security

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has released its new report that summarizes the key findings of the investigations conducted under Section 232. The report prepared by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) focuses on the effects of imports of steel mill products on the national security of the US.

The DOC report states that domestic steel production is essential for national security applications including critical infrastructure sectors including transportation, electric power grid, water and energy generation systems. The demand for steel in such critical industries has increased significantly. Based on 1997 data, the finished steel consumption by critical industries had totaled 33.68 million metric tons per year. Meantime, the analysis of 2007 data suggests that the domestic steel consumption in critical industries skyrocketed to 54 million metric tons per year.

ALSO READ: AIIS Statement on Section 232 Report

The excessive quantities of steel imports by the US have impacted the domestic steelmaking industry. Despite imposing hefty anti-dumping and countervailing duties, the imports of most types of steel have continued to increase. For instance, the imports during the initial ten-month period of 2017 have reported double-digit growth when compared with the corresponding period in 2016. The imports are priced substantially lower than the domestically produced steel, DOC noted. The country’s steel production capacity has remained almost flat since 2001, while other major steel producing nations have increased their capacities tremendously.

Based on the findings of the report, the US DOC concludes that current levels of steel imports tend to weaken the country’s internal economy and threaten to impair the national security. It calls for immediate government intervention to reduce imports to lower levels, so as to enable U.S. mills to operate at a minimum of 80% capability utilization rate.