WASHINGTON – In response the the International Trade Commission's (ITC) penalty recommendations against foreign steel manufacturers who have flooded the U.S. market with imports, Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin today urged President Bush "go beyond the ITC recommendations and impose a significant enough penalty" on foreign steel makers to ensure the continued viability of the U.S. steel industry.

"It is within the President's discretion to decide on the remedy. I call on him to impose a significant enough penalty to ensure that the price of imported steel is competitive with U.S.-produced steel. He also needs to address the legacy costs (pension and health care costs for retired workers), which were incurred in part as a result of governmental policies and which have become an unfair burden to U.S. steel manufacturers," said Rep. Cardin.

In today's announcement, the ITC recommended a range of tariffs and quotas on steel imports to counteract the flood of foreign subsidized steel that has flood the U.S. market since. The steel industry has called for tariffs in the 30-50% range. The ITC, however, recommended tariffs for 16 steel product lines in the 8-20% range, considerably less than what the steel industry had sought.

In October, the ITC ruled that the U.S. steel industry had been "seriously injured" in recent years by the flood of foreign steel imports. The ITC ruling specifically mentioned many of the products made at Bethlehem Steel Corp's Sparrows Point facility. Today's ITC remedy recommendation will be forwarded to the President, but it is not binding. The President has broad discretion in imposing a penalty.

Bethlehem Steel Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, bringing a total of 26 U.S. steel companies that have filed for bankruptcy since the beginning of the steel crisis. This week, Bethlehem Steel and U.S. Steel announced that they are in merger talks, but a big hurdle remains the legacy costs.

Rep. Cardin firmly believes that any restructuring of Bethlehem Steel "will require that legacy costs be addressed." According the the congressman, the steel industry has a legitimate claim for seeking governmental action regarding legacy costs because "in the 1980s and early 1990s, the United States signed Voluntary Restraint Agreements (VRAs) reducing the amount of steel produced, forcing the U.S. industry as a whole to decrease capacity." That lead to an increase in the number of retired steelworkers whose pensions and health care costs had to be picked up by U.S. steel manufacturers.

"The U.S. steel industry is in crisis and I urge the President to act decisively and quickly to ensure the industry's very survival. As the leading world power, we must not become dependent on foreign imports to sustain our defense and manufacturing capabilities," said the Congressman. "Survival of the U.S. steel industry is in our national interest."