US steel industry applauds passage of Trade Enforcement Bill

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The US Senate has passed a trade bill on Thursday which includes the long-pending demands by the country’s steel industry with respect to stricter enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duties on unfairly traded imports. The bill approved by Senate through 75-20 vote, now awaits President’s signature.

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (HR 644) includes the provisions from the Enforcing Orders and Reducing Circumvention and Evasion (ENFORCE) Act. The ENFORCE provisions includes new procedures to address the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty orders within set deadlines.

The bill sets timeline for investigations conducted on claims of duty evasion. The government authority is required to initiate an investigation within 30 days of receiving the petition. A preliminary determination has to be arrived at within 90 days. The timeline set for final determination is 300 days from the date of initiation of investigation.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) welcomed the Senate passage of the bill. Thomas J. Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) stated that the new legislation gives US manufacturing industries and their workers new tools to fight back against unfair trade. Rising steel imports have damaged the domestic manufacturing industries in the US. The quick implementation of the law will protect the steel industry from further injuries, Gibson noted. Philip Bell, president of SMA too lauded the bill for its provisions to address injurious practices followed by foreign exporters to dump cheaper products into the US market.