Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, has joined Philip K Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association, in applauding President Donald Trumps renewed tariffs programme and calling it a 'comprehensive plan for restoring fairness in US trade relationships'.
“American steel producers know well the negative impact of foreign unfair trade practices, including subsidies, currency manipulation and other unfair and discriminatory policies and practices, on domestic industries and their workers.
“Steel is a widely traded good and our industry has been repeatedly harmed by unfair trade practices around the world. Due to foreign government subsidies and other trade-distorting government policies, global overcapacity in the steel industry reached 573Mt (metric tons) in 2024. This overcapacity, if unaddressed, can fuel surges in injurious imports into our market, and the problem of steel overcapacity is not limited to any one country or region of the world.
“We look forward to working with the Secretary of Commerce, the U.S. Trade Representative and other key administration officials as they develop their plan of action to ensure reciprocity in international trade and to preserve the competitiveness of the American steel industry and other sectors.”
The AISI, which counts both integrated and electric steelmakers as members, serves, it claims, as 'the voice of the American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice'.