What Does the Man Whose Finger Is On the Pulse of the Economy Have to Say About Steel Protection?

"[T]he president has to make a judgment before March the 6th on the [Section] 201& think the important issue which is on the table is not only the impact that it has on, one, jobs, and the 600,000 retirees in the steel industry who have, as we call, significant legacy costs; but it's also an issue of what a marked increase in steel import prices would do to the costs of steel-using industries, of which the numbers are quite significantly larger than the roughly 150,000 to 175,000 who work directly in the steel industry."

"& I don't believe that it's credible to presume that the steel industry will no longer exist, because half of the mills, as you know, are [minimills], and while they're under some pressure because of the obvious weakness in steel prices, they're doing reasonably well, and there's no evidence of which I'm aware which suggests that they're going out of business."

"As far as steel for defense, the amounts that we need are extraordinarily small, and I'm not convinced & that a goodly part of the actual heavy steel that we need is not available."

"[T]here's certainly not going to be a disappearance of the traditional steel industry. I do agree with you that it's under severe difficulty."

Alan Greenspan
Chairman, Federal Reserve Board
Before the House Financial Services Committee
February 27, 2002

CITAC'S SOLUTIONS:

• Give consumers a voice in the steel policy formulation process.
  
• Allow imports of steel products unavailable from U.S. suppliers.
  
• No hidden consumer tax for steel company promises to workers.

Get all the facts: Call CITAC

The Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition

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