Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute Urges White House to Take Early Action in Section 232 Investigation into Steel

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute (CFSBI) has sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging early action to impose a remedy under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to protect the ability of the American steel industry to supply materials critical to the nation's defense and infrastructure requirements.

"The bottom line is that we need help, and soon," said CFSBI Chairman William Geary, President of Nelsen Steel Company. "We respectfully urge that any remedy determined in the Section 232 case apply not only to the cold finished steel bar we produce, but also to downstream component parts made by our customers which are then incorporated into subassemblies, motors, a multitude of industrial and infrastructure applications, and of course, various weapons and defense systems, which are absolutely critical to the protection of our country," Mr. Geary said.

Cold finished steel bar is incorporated into a wide range of consumer, industrial, aerospace, and military products.  Essentially any product that contains a motor or moving part contains one or more components made from cold finished steel bar.  The U.S. cold finished steel bar industry produces high-quality products on an efficient and cost-competitive basis, using highly trained workers under environmentally sound conditions.

The Secretary of Commerce initiated the Section 232 investigation on steel imports on April 19, 2017.  Section 232 investigations are initiated to determine the effects of imports of any articles on U.S. national security. In this case, the Commerce Department is determining the effect of steel imports on the national security. The Secretary initiated the investigation on steel imports in light of the large volumes of excess global steel production and capacity ? much of which results from foreign government subsidies and other unfair practices ? which distort the U.S. and global steel markets. Steel is used in a variety of commercial, infrastructure and defense applications.

The CFSBI is represented by David A. Hartquist of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren, LLC, and Georgetown Economic Services (GES), a subsidiary of the law firm.

SOURCE The Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute