WASHINGTON LTV executive asks Congress to help U.S. steel industry

A coalition of congressmen called on President Bush to cut foreign steel imports.
By CRAIG LINDER
STATES NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Inexpensive steel imports may be LTV Corp.'s greatest challenge, and now Congress knows it.
David L. Carroll, a senior vice president of the company's pipe and conduit group in Youngstown, told a House panel about the Cleveland-based company's fiscal woes Wednesday afternoon and asked Congress to help the ailing steel industry recover.
LTV Corp. has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
"This indeed is a difficult time for all of us," he said. "Like other companies, we have not been able to compete against the continued flood of unfairly traded imports into the U.S."
Carroll joined other steel industry representatives and a former United Steelworkers union president to tell the Congressional Steel Caucus that financially troubled American companies need a reprieve from the onslaught of foreign steel that began flooding the domestic market in 1997 before they will be able to recover.
Pleas to president: Carroll's plea found sympathetic ears: A coalition of 74 members of Congress called on President Bush on Tuesday to cut foreign steel imports.
The lawmakers, including Rep. James Traficant of Poland, D-17th, asked Bush to invoke a little-used provision of federal trade law -- called Section 201 -- allowing the government to impose high tariffs and strict quotas to reduce the amount of foreign steel reaching American shores.
"A successful Section 201 action, initiated by your administration, is critical to our domestic steel industry," the legislators told Bush. "A strong, competitive and vibrant domestic steel industry is critical to the U.S. economy."
That request largely drew praise from the steel industry representatives, but many are anxious to see what action the White House will take. Former President Clinton was criticized by many in the steel industry for not beginning a Section 201 investigation during his administration.
"We must remain vigilant to keep the pressure on the [Bush] administration to ensure that there is action and not procrastination," Carroll said.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick told Congress earlier this month that the Bush administration would "very seriously" consider using the 201 authority to boost the steel industry.
Not everyone agrees that's such a good idea, however. Calling the steel industry a "classic example of why protection doesn't work," David Phelps, the president of the American Institute for International Steel, said American steel companies haven't been able to recover during three decades of trade restrictions.