Bush owes steel industry and the nation action on SIMA

It doesn't seem too much to ask for the government to keep track of how much steel is being imported and how it is affecting the fortunes of American steel companies and the jobs of American steelworkers.
Indeed, President Bush instituted just such a program as part of an effort to save the domestic steel industry from the effects of cheap foreign steel imports.
Now, the steel import monitoring system is due to expire on March 20, and steel-state congressmen and domestic steel companies can't even get a response from the White House or the Commerce Department on whether it will be extended.
In January, U.S. Rep. Phil English, R-3rd Pa., writing on behalf of leaders in the Congressional Steel Caucus, asked the Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez to use the agency's rule-making process to extend the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System.
As a new secretary of commerce, Gutierrez undoubtedly has a lot on his plate, but the least he could have done by now is respond.
Cause for concern
That he hasn't is one of the things that is fueling concern among steel-state legislators, steel companies and steelworkers regarding Gutierrez's sensitivity to the nation's steel industry.
A recent Associated Press story reported that the anxiety level over how Gutierrez will respond to the industry's requests is growing. Tim Roberts,, a spokesman for Warren-based WCI Steel Inc. was quoted as saying, "I think the industry is pretty eager to find out where he stands."
It would appear that English, Roberts and everyone else concerned with the future of the U.S. steel industry -- this newspaper included -- have cause for concern.
Gutierrez came to the Bush Cabinet after serving as CEO of the Kellogg cereal company and his appointment was reported by the Washington Post as the opening move in a near-total remake of Bush's economic team. Kellogg may be a rustbelt-based company, but it isn't U.S. Steel, and nothing says that better than Gutierrez's failure to respond to an inquiry from the 115-representative-strong steel caucus.
The Commerce Department would not answer questions posed by the Associated Press about Gutierrez's relationship with the steel industry or respond to the industry's specific concerns about getting to know the secretary. The department said it would not comment on SIMA's future because the department continues to study the program.
The monitoring system is about all that's left of President Bush's commitment to help the domestic steel industry survive against unfair cut-rate imports. Tariffs he initially approved were canceled early.
Valuable information
SIMA requires the government to collect data on where imported steel is coming from and what kind of products are being most often imported. The industry sees this information as valuable in preventing the kind of import floods that endangered its survival in the past.
Rep. English has taken the initiative by introducing legislation that would continue and possibly expand SIMA. In the long-run, legislation may be the best way of protecting an industry that administrations from both political parties have been willing to sacrifice on the altar of "fair trade" -- even when there was nothing demonstrably fair about the predatory practices of state-financed competitors.
But time is running out to preserve the record on imports that SIMA provides and to avoid a gap, the administration must step in.
If Gutierrez is not inclined to find the time for his department to respond to the legitimate questions and concerns of the steel constituency, President Bush should step in. It's the least he owes the millions of steelworkers who supported him. But more, he owes it to the nation to protect an industry that continues to play a vital role in the national defense. This nation can't afford to rely on off-shore mills to provide steel for armament and armored Humvees.