WASHINGTON -- Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin today joined a bipartisan group of House members in co-sponsoring legislation that would preserve steelworker jobs in this country and help the U.S. steel industry compete more effectively with foreign steel manufacturers.

Rep. Cardin, who represents many of the workers at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point, Md. facility, has been very critical of the unfair trading practices of many foreign steel manufacturers. "Since 1998, the U.S. steel industry has been besieged by a flood of illegal imports, resulting in enormous losses and the bankruptcy of 11 steel companies. Congress needs to take strong steps to protect the U.S. steel industry and its workers," said Rep. Cardin.

The Steel Revitalization Act, HR 808, would address the glut of illegally dumped imports by setting import levels at the average level of penetration that occurred three years prior to the onset of the steel import crisis in 1998. It also would establish a 2% surcharge on the sale of all domestic and imported steel products in the United States. The revenue would be placed in a special fund at the Department of Labor for the health care costs of steelworker retirees.

The legislation also would address the inability of steel companies to secure a reliable cash flow for capital investments, and would promote consolidation of the U.S. steel industry while encouraging the retention of workers and domestic steel production.

In 2000, the Department of Commerce released a study documenting the unfair trading practices of Korea, Brazil, Japan, and Russia. It pointed to the vast overcapacity of steel by these nations as a result of government subsidies. The study also stressed that market distortions have been responsible for frequent bouts of large-scale dumping of steel in the United States.

On Feb. 9th, Rep. Cardin joined the Congressional Steel Caucus in requesting a meeting with President Bush to discuss threat to the U.S. steel industry from foreign manufacturers. In the 106th Congress, Rep. Cardin introduced the Fair Trade Enhancement Act, to strengthen antidumping and countervailing duty laws, and the WTO Dispute Settlement Review Commission Act, to ensure that the World Trade Organization does not become a de facto court of review for the U.S. application of its trade laws.