U.S. Department Of Commerce Releases Reports And Recommendations In Steel, Aluminum National Security Investigation -

On February 16, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) released its reports and recommendations to President Trump regarding its investigations on the impact of steel and aluminum imports on U.S. national security. As previously reported, Commerce initiated these investigations in April 2017 pursuant to section 232(b)(1)(A) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. In its reports, Commerce “found that the quantities and circumstances of steel and aluminum imports ‘threaten to impair the national security,’ as defined by Section 232.” The reports recommend a variety of actions that President Trump may take in response to the findings, and President Trump is currently reviewing these recommendations.

Imports of Steel -

In its report on the impact of steel imports on U.S. national security, Commerce found, among other key findings, that “six basic oxygen furnaces and four electric furnaces have closed [in the United States] since 2000 and employment has dropped by 35% since 1998,” and that global excess steel capacity is nearly seven times the total annual amount of U.S. steel consumption. Commerce also found that the excess steel capacity of China—far and away the world’s largest producer and exporter of steel—is more than the total steel capacity in the United States, and China produces almost as much steel in an average month as the United States produces in an entire year.