AIIS: U.S. steel imports cut both ways

Despite domestic steel producers viewing international steel imports as a threat, a recent report from the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) showed that 1.3 million jobs across the United States were supported by those same imports in 2016.    Although domestic steel producers view international steel imports as a threat, a recent report revealed the silver lining that imported iron and steel products have on the U.S. economy.
   The report, titled, “The 2016 National Economic Impact of Imported Iron and Steel Products on the U.S. Marine Transportation System and the U.S. Economy,” was prepared for the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) by consulting firm Martin Associates.
   The report, dated Sept. 1, revealed that in 2016, 34.4 million tons of iron and steel products valued at $35.4 billion were imported into the nation’s seaports, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census, USA Trade OnLine.
   “These iron and steel products had a significant impact on the U.S. economy, including the nation’s marine transportation system as well as domestic users of the imported iron and steel products,” the report said.
   During the year, 1.3 million U.S. jobs were supported by the imported iron and steel moving through the nation’s seaports.
   These imports generated about $239.8 billion of total economic activity, or about 1.3 percent of the nation’s $18.9 trillion gross domestic product in 2016.
   A total of $19.4 billion of federal, state and local taxes was also generated by iron and steel import cargo handled at the nation’s ports in 2016.
   In addition, the majority of vessels transporting imported steel into U.S. Gulf Coast and Great Lakes ports provide backhaul capacity to move grain exports from the U.S. to overseas destinations. “Should import restrictions be imposed on the imported iron and steel products, not only will the 1.3 million jobs be at risk, but the ocean cost to export grain from the U.S., particularly from the Lower Mississippi River, will increase due to the restricted number of vessels that will be available to carry grain exports,” the report said.
   Despite the study showing how iron and steel imports can benefit the U.S. economy, 23 domestic pipe and tube manufactures wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Aug. 28, urging him “to move forward quickly with effective relief under the Section 232 investigation on steel imports in order to ensure the safety of domestic supply of pipe and tube to the national defense and critical infrastructure of the United States.”
   Members of the Committee on Pipe & Tube Imports said in the letter that foreign producers supply over 60 percent of the nation’s pipe and tube products.
   “The high and growing level of import penetration has come at the expense of U.S. producers who have seen their sales plummet and their profitability decimated, forcing them to idle capacity and reduce their workforce,” they said in the letter. “If the U.S. industry producing pipe and tube shrinks further, it will put the U.S. economy and national defense at a strategic disadvantage due to an unhealthy, and perhaps unsustainable, dependence on foreign products.
   “Time is running out for the industry and its workers and we urge you take immediate action under the provisions of U.S. law that allow you to intervene to ensure that domestic producers can meet the national security needs of our great country by imposing a combination of quotas and tariffs,” they added.
   The Commerce department is conducting a Section 232 investigation of the impact of steel imports on national security, but it is currently not clear when it will submit its report, the AIIS said.