US. Climate change, trade legislation remain steel's top concerns

US. Climate change, trade legislation remain steel's top concerns. Steel industry leaders said that they are continuing to work with members of Congress to produce more favorable elements in legislation aimed at strengthening trade policies and on climate change. During a press briefing at the American Iron and Steel Institute's general meeting in Boca Raton, Fla., executives and trade group representatives outlined their policy concerns and commented on improved market conditions in the industry. AISI President and CEO Thomas Gibson said the organization supports all efforts to address trade concerns that affect the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers, including legislation introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in March. Gibson said work is continuing with Congress to strengthen the legislation, but he commended the group of senators for embracing the industry's concerns. The legislation would allow the U.S. Treasury Department to cite a country as having "fundamentally misaligned" currency without having to prove willful intent to gain a trade advantage. The legislation would impose penalties on designated countries including tariffs on the countries' exports and a ban on any companies from those countries receiving U.S. government contracts. Daniel DiMicco, Nucor Corp. president and CEO, emphasized the issue of fair trade is larger than currency manipulation, which he said helps certain Chinese companies receive a 40 percent subsidy from the government on goods exported to the United States. A group of domestic companies including United States Steel Corp. have benefitted from victories on high-profile trade cases filed against Chinese companies on products ranging from pipe and tube products used in oil and gas exploration to tires. "This is an issue affecting the entire economy and manufacturing sector in this country," said DiMicco, who is also the incoming AISI chairman. The unveiling of a climate change bill from Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. has been delayed from last week, but Gibson expects it to be similar to the Waxman-Markey bill the House of Representatives has already approved. Gibson said bills that don't reach a conference committee by the summer often aren't done before the end of the legislative session, and he said the onus is now on the senators to produce a bill that can gain more support. David Britten, president of SSAB Americas, said "draconian EPA regulations" or a poorly designed cap-and-trade program could place domestic companies at a competitive disadvantage if worldwide standards aren't created. "This is not (just) an environmental bill," Gibson said. "This is a trade bill and an economic policy bill." The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has brought increased scrutiny of issues with climate change legislation. There have been renewed calls from environmental groups to halt offshore drilling of oil and natural gas, a sector that makers of steel pipe and tube products believe is showing increased demand after the economic collapse. DiMicco called the incident a "tragedy of major proportion," but said the worse thing the country could do is walk away from creating a national energy strategy. "We were at a point of time where we were understanding the importance (of having) a domestic energy policy," DiMicco said. "We can't allow this to deter us from this goal." The American Iron and Steel Institute is the trade association that represents companies that are a part of the North American steel industry. The organization's members represent about 75 percent of U.S. and North American steel capacity.