WASHINGTON – In testimony today before the International Trade Commission, U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin urged the commission to "continue the Section 201 remedy for the full three-year term so that the U.S. steel industry can undertake further consolidation and restructuring efforts."

The Congressman, who represents thousands of workers at the International Steel Group (ISG) plant in Sparrows Point, MD, testified that the ISG is "now emerging as one of the lowest-cost U.S. integrated steelmakers, but it -- along with other U.S. steel producers -- needs to complete the restructuring process."

Rep. Cardin also referred to the overcapacity of steel production by foreign steel companies since 1998 that has severely damaged the U.S. steel market. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that "structural problems" exited in the global steel market, and that numerous foreign governments subsidized their domestic steel industry. It also reported that many of these countries – Japan, China, Brazil and India – maintain substantial barriers to U.S. imports.

In 2001, the ITC recommended sanctions against foreign manufacturers who flood the U.S. market with illegal imports. In March 2002, President Bush imposed the Section 201 remedy, which imposed higher tariffs on steel imports. This mid-term review by the ITC will determine whether to keep the penalty in place for the full three-year period.

The Congressman urged the ITC to maintain the tariff measure for the full three years, saying that failure to do so would "subject the Untied States to renewed import surges from foreign overcapacity and could jeopardize current and future acquisitions and investments."