Both of Ohio’s senators are calling on the Trump administration to make public an investigation into steel imports, accusing foreign producers of flooding the U.S. with steel in advance of the report’s release. The investigation, launched by President Trump in April, lays the foundation for adding tariffs onto steel coming into the United States. The original self-imposed deadline was the end of June.
Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman said in their letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that foreign companies are flooding the U.S. market with steel in advance of the report’s release. According to numbers compiled by a trade group representing domestic producers, there was a 12 percent increase in steel products coming into the U.S. in June compared to May.
The focus has been on Chinese producers flooding the US market with underpriced steel, but according to the steel producers’ data, the biggest recent increases have come from Turkey and Taiwan and steel imports from China have declined this year compared to last.