Congresswoman Terri Sewell urged House Leadership to adopt stronger trade enforcement laws to protect the American steel industry as a part of the trade legislation lawmakers are expected to vote on this week. 

“My vote on trade legislation hinges on stronger trade enforcement provisions on anti-dumping and currency manipulation, which directly affect the steel industry in my district. Any trade legislation that comes before the House must contain provisions that protect American workers and industries against unfair competition and deceptive trading practices. At the very least, the House should adopt measures to timely consider anti-dumping and countervailing claims before the International Trade Commission (ITC), and provide the Department of Commerce with the flexibility to use prices that are not distorted when calculating dumping,” said Rep. Sewell.

“The steel industry supports an estimated 63,000 jobs across Alabama, and is one of the largest employers in the 7^th Congressional District of Alabama. We cannot afford to lose even one job because other countries are not playing by the rules.

“One-sided trade practices like dumping and currency manipulation are hurting American businesses, particularly our steel industry, and the U.S. trade remedy laws only correct the problem after the fact. By the time that the process has been completed, American workers have already been laid off and our businesses have already lost their market share.

“American industries should not be forced to compete on an uneven playing field. Unfair trade practices hurt our domestic economy and our competitiveness abroad.”

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