MANCHIN TESTIFIES BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION IN SUPPORT OF CLEVELAND-CLIFFS, DOMESTIC STEEL INDUSTRY

Press Release

"Thank you, Chairman Johnson, for the opportunity to testify before the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) this morning and for your steadfast leadership on the Commission.

I would also like to extend my thanks to Commissioners Schmidtlein, Kearns, and Karpel for their tireless work on behalf of the ITC.

And finally, I wish to extend my appreciation to my colleagues, Senators Brown and Capito as well as Congressmen Johnson and Rouzer, for their commitment to ensuring domestic industries – particularly in the steel industry – are afforded the proper trade protections by our federal government.

I am here to express my strong support for the anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions filed by Cleveland Cliffs and the United Steelworkers on unfairly subsidized tin mill products.

As the Commission is well aware, steel has been the backbone of innovation and economic growth in our great nation for centuries.

The U.S. could not have become the world’s superpower without a reliable and robust steel industry.

The United States was once the number one producer of steel, aluminum and tinplate in the world, with over 20,000 steelworkers in West Virginia alone.

As the backbone of American manufacturing, the steel industry is essential to water and food supply chains, energy production and national security.

Steel is absolutely essential to our military operations, including for nuclear submarines, missiles, armor plate for tanks and every major military aircraft in production.

Importantly, we produce the cleanest steel made anywhere in the world, and it is a critical input in our industrial economy.

Bottom line: A robust domestic steel industry is vital to creating American jobs, strengthening our economy and protecting our national security. The steel at issue in the case currently before the ITC, tin mill, is no exception.

As the Commission is aware, in January of 2023, Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steel Workers filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against eight countries related to unfairly trade tin and chromium coated sheet steel products – more commonly referred to as tin mill products.

The decision to file this petition was not taken lightly, but reflects the current realities faced by the domestic industry.

In the last three years, international production and imports of tin mill products into the United States have seen a substantial surge.

And unfortunately, there has not been a corresponding increase in domestic demand for these products.

In fact, the increase in imports from just three of the aforementioned eight countries – Canada, China, and Germany – accounted for nearly half of one year’s production at Cleveland-Cliffs’ facility in Weirton, West Virginia.

This rapid rise took market share from domestic producers and caused their order books to drop dramatically.

Beyond impacts to the industry’s bottom line, it has also been detrimental to its workforce.

In the last two years, hundreds of workers across the industry have been laid off at their tin mill facilities nationwide. This includes Cleveland-Cliffs’ decision to lay off 300 workers at their Weirton facility last June.

Let me be clear – for a community that depends economically on this plant, losing one-third of the workforce is devastating.

The fact that this devastation was caused by unfair trade practices just adds insult to injury and is plain wrong.

It is clear that trade relief is needed from the Commission and the Department of Commerce before it is too late.

I was encouraged by the Commission and the Department’s preliminary determinations released in August that reached affirmative determinations on imports from China, Germany, and Canada.

But at the same time, I am concerned that negative determinations in that same announcement were issued to the other five countries – the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

I urge the Commission to examine all available evidence and take every necessary precaution prior to issuing any final determinations in this case.

As you all know, the work the Commission does and the cases you consider are critical to the health and survival of our domestic industries.

Strong enforcement of the AD/CVD laws is vital to true market competition in the United States. American companies like Cleveland-Cliffs, and American workers represented by the USW, need the chance to participate in a market that is not distorted by unfair trading practices like dumping and unfair government subsidies.

I implore the Commission to enforce the trade laws that Congress wrote, using every tool at its disposal to ensure unfair trade is remedied.

The long-term success of the domestic steel industry is counting on you. It is imperative that our AD/CVD laws are enforced to the fullest, and that the United States shows the utmost support for its domestic industries."

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