Pryor Challenges Unfair Steel Trade Practices

Cites Commercial Metals Company in Magnolia As One of Arkansas Businesses Impacted

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Mark Pryor today led a bipartisan group of senators on a letter to Commerce Secretary Pritzker regarding the surge of unfairly traded steel reinforcing bar or “rebar” into the U.S. economy. With hundreds of Arkansas jobs depending on this industry, Pryor said it’s critical that the Commerce Department prosecute these unfair trade practices to protect Arkansas jobs and our state’s economy.
 
“We have hundreds of hard-working employees in our state, like those at Commercial Metals Company in Magnolia, who depend on the rebar industry for their livelihood,”Pryor said. “We can’t allow Mexico and Turkey to break the rules and get away with it. The Commerce Department should act immediately to uphold our trade laws and protect our nation’s economy.”
 
“Commercial Metals Company deeply appreciates the leadership and support of Senator Pryor, and Members of the Arkansas delegation in Washington who have also shown support. Illegally imported and dumped rebar from Turkey and Mexico has taken a toll on the US industry, and the loss of additional manufacturing jobs in the state and country to these imports cannot be tolerated. Specifically, our steel mill in Magnolia has suffered and we believe this clear message on dumping to the Secretary of Commerce will help prevent further loss of US jobs,” said Tracy L. Porter, President, CMC Americas and Senior Vice President, Commercial Metals Company.
 
The full text of Pryor’s letter is below:
 
We write to you regarding countervailing duty and antidumping investigations being conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce on imports of steel reinforcing bar (rebar) from Turkey and Mexico.  As the Department investigates dumping and subsidies, we respectfully request that the domestic rebar industry be given full consideration.  American businesses and workers expect that the Department will find dumping and subsidization where it is occurring, and will prosecute unfair trade practices to the full extent of the law.
 
Rebar is one of the largest volume steel products produced in the U.S., employing more than 10,000 workers in over 30 states.  With nearly 7 million tons of domestic production, a healthy rebar industry is critical to a strong economy.  However, it is our understanding that imports from Turkey and Mexico are surging into the U.S., nearly doubling from 2011 to 2013.  The widespread impact these unfairly-traded rebar imports are having on industry and communities across the country is extremely troubling and must be addressed.
 
The International Trade Commission recently found that Mexican and Turkish rebar producers are consistently underselling U.S. producers, resulting in substantial lost sales and depressed prices.  Subsequently, the Department of Commerce made a preliminary finding that the Government of Turkey bestows energy subsidies to its rebar industry, but that such subsidies are only de minimis in value.  This seems surprising given the inherently energy-intensive nature of steel production.
 
It is essential that we do everything that we can do to prevent unfairly-traded imports from negatively impacting good-paying American jobs, especially in these challenging economic times.  We urge you to take the necessary actions to strictly and fully enforce our trade laws.
 
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration of this critical issue.