Washington –U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) and other members of the Metro East Congressional Delegation sent a letter to United States Department of Commerce (DOC) Secretary Wilbur Ross urging the agency to ensure that proper dumping margins are placed on unfairly traded steel imports from Korea.  Favorable margins could improve prospects for domestic steelmakers, including U. S. Steel’s Granite City Works in the Metro East.  

“We have seen the harm that unfair and illegal trade practices have done to our steel industry—most recently with the idling of Granite City Works in Madison County,” said Rep. Bost.  “Congress has enacted legislation providing the Department of Commerce with the appropriate tools and authority to combat unfair trade practices and I fully expect them to apply these in a manner that helps protect and put our steelmakers back to work.  There is no question that American steel can compete with anyone in the world, given a fair playing field.”

“We appreciate Congressman Bost's continued leadership on strong enforcement of U.S. trade laws and advocacy on behalf of United States Steel and Granite City," said Suzanne Rich Folsom, United States Steel Corporation General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Government Affairs.

U. S. Steel Corporation is party to an ongoing trade remedy case alleging that South Korean steel producers are dumping – selling at below market prices -- Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) into the United States market.  Recently, the DOC revised and reduced its temporary preliminary margins on South Korean OCTG imports, resulting in a flood of South Korean steel into the United States market.  The Metro East delegation’s letter questions this decision, and encourages the DOC to ensure proper dumping margins are put into place to address this flood of unfairly traded imports and to provide certainty to domestic producers and workers.    

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