Quote of the Day
"The U.S. economy expanded at a faster clip than initially forecast in the third quarter, helped by more robust consumer spending and by stronger exports. The economy grew at a 2.5% annualized pace in the quarter, revised up from the initial estimate of 2.0%, the government said in its second estimate of quarterly gross domestic product. GDP growth was 1.7% during the second quarter.”
- Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, 11/23/2010
For Release: Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Contact:David Gillies (Costello): (202) 225-5661
Steven Tomaszewski (Shimkus):(618) 344-3065
SHIMKUS & COSTELLO SUPPORT U.S. STEEL INDUSTRY
Washington - Congressmen John Shimkus (R, Illinois-19) and Jerry Costello (D, Illinois-12) have both submitted testimony to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) in support of the domestic steel industry.
The ITC held a hearing in Washington, DC, on March 2 that is required every five years. The hearing focused on anti-dumping orders imposed on Brazil, Japan, and Russia in 1999. In addition, President Bush imposed sanctions in 2001.
"The domestic steel industry has made great strides in the last five years in becoming more efficient," said Costello. "We need to maintain a level international playing field where cheap foreign steel cannot be dumped in the U.S. As we have seen in the past, the effect of dumping is American workers losing jobs and the U.S. having to rely on foreign producers for an essential resource."
In his letter to the chairman of the ITC, Shimkus wrote, "The American steel industry has been struggling with the devastating impact of unfair trade practices for decades. .Until this excess steel capacity is curtailed, including in the subject countries, American steel companies and workers will remain at risk.
"In my view, it is not acceptable for American steel companies and workers to be forced to once again compete against unfairly priced imports because of a failure to fully enforce the trade laws," Shimkus noted.
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