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PROTECTING AMERICAN JOBS

Rally pressures feds on steel imports

Steelworkers, mining companies seeking tariffs on Korean imports of steel pipe

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 6/24/14

VIRGINIA— “Mine it here, make it here,” was the message that more than 1,500 sign-waving miners, political leaders, and supporters had for Washington politicians at a rally at Miner’s …

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PROTECTING AMERICAN JOBS

Rally pressures feds on steel imports

Steelworkers, mining companies seeking tariffs on Korean imports of steel pipe

Posted

VIRGINIA— “Mine it here, make it here,” was the message that more than 1,500 sign-waving miners, political leaders, and supporters had for Washington politicians at a rally at Miner’s Memorial on Monday.

“We didn’t come here looking for a subsidy, a handout, or a bailout,” said Jon Malek, president of Steelworkers Local 1938, in Mt. Iron, who helped organize Monday’s rally. “We’re looking for a level playing field.”

Steelworkers and manufacturers have been rallying across the U.S. in recent weeks to put pressure on the federal Department of Commerce to impose tariffs on Korean tubular steel, which domestic steel producers contend is being sold at below the cost of production. The tubular steel, known as Oil Country Tubular Goods, or OCTG, is in high demand in the U.S. with the rapid increase in oil and gas production.

The Department of Commerce, in a preliminary decision earlier this year, had found several other countries guilty of steel dumping, but department officials had excluded South Korea from that decision.

But steelworkers and manufacturers contend that Korea has evaded detection by funneling its steel shipments through other countries. They say steel imports from Korea have exploded in the past two years, to more than one million tons last year, and note that some domestic producers of OCTG, including two plants operated by US Steel, have already had layoffs as a result. Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, who emceed Monday’s event, told the group that the evidence is overwhelming and it’s time for action.

The Commerce Department is expected to issue a final decision by July 8, according to Malek, who says he’s not optimistic that federal regulators will stand up for the domestic steel industry. “I don’t have a lot of confidence in the people enforcing our trade laws,” he said.

Even so, Iron Rangers made it clear they are ready to fight, and they received plenty of encouragement from a long line-up of speakers, including Gov. Mark Dayton and MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, a consistent advocate for union workers. “Don’t back down,” Schultz told the assembled crowd in the Miner’s Memorial parking lot. “This is not about Republican or Democrat. It’s about American jobs,” he said.

“It’s absolutely critical that we stand together with other steel communities,” said Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, who noted that President Obama is scheduled to visit Minnesota next week. “We need to tell President Obama that when he gets back to Washington, he needs to sit down with the Department of Commerce and put stiff tariffs on Korean steel,” Bakk added.

Gov. Dayton offered a brief history lesson to the crowd, noting that Iron Rangers workers have faced struggles for years— first with union-busting mine bosses, and more recently with the dumping of foreign steel. “Today’s enemies are not the companies, but these other countries,” Dayton said. “It’s essential that our government stand up for U.S. workers,” Dayton added.

Many of Monday’s speakers recalled the history of mine shutdowns, including the 2001 closing and bankruptcy of LTV. Dayton said he recalled the day, back in the 1980s, when he traveled with the late Gov. Rudy Perpich to Nashwauk following the shutdown of the former Butler Taconite plant. He said he recalls the many faces in the room, who had gathered hoping that the politicians could deliver some good news. “We had to tell them we had no miracles,” he said.

It’s the prospect of a new round of shutdowns on the Range that brought residents from across the region to show their support for tariffs on illegally-dumped foreign steel. If the Department of Commerce fails to act, workers and industry representatives fear the floodgates will open and the country could soon be awash in cheap foreign steel. “Then you’re talking about potentially half a million jobs in the U.S. being impacted, including here on the Iron Range,” he said.

If so, said Malek, it won’t just be steelworkers looking for jobs. “We’re not going to go quietly into the night, and we’re not going to let the domestic steel industry be turned into Walmart,” he added. “The politicians need to do their jobs or they’ll find next election that they’ll be the ones looking for work.”