November 22, 2008

AISI joins American scrap coalition

The American Iron and Steel Institute announced that it has joined the American Scrap Coalition, which is urging strong, immediate government action to eliminate the taxes and other market access barriers that numerous offshore governments maintain on their exports of steel scrap.

Mr Keith E Busse chairman of AISI said that “The widespread use of steel scrap export taxes and other barriers initiated by foreign governments is one more important example of the uneven international playing field for steel and US manufacturing in general. These export restrictions by governments act as a significant subsidy for their domestic steel and steel using industries in those countries that restrict scrap exports. At the same time, they have the opposite, and very damaging, effect of limiting availability and driving up costs for steel and steel-using industries outside of those countries.”

In noting the importance of steel scrap and of trade policies that support free and fair trade in critical raw materials and minerals, Mr Andrew G Sharkey III president & CEO of AISI said that “All of AISI’s producer member companies whether EAF or integrated use scrap in varying degrees in the steelmaking process. On policy grounds, AISI strongly agrees with the U.S. government view that foreign government export barriers are a major market access problem of growing importance to US manufacturers not only for steel, but for our domestic customers as well. We therefore support vigorous US and NAFTA government efforts, in the WTO and in bilateral discussions, to eliminate these foreign government export barriers whether on scrap, coke, iron ore or ferroalloys.”