Brown testifies on behalf of steel manufacturers

WASHINGTON D.C.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown testified before the International Trade Commission on unfair foreign imports on Tuesday.

Brown, a democrat from Cleveland, urged the commission to protect American steel manufacturers, according to a press release issued by his office.

Brown’s testimony follows a ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce to levy trade tariffs against nine countries, including South Korea, that have illegally dumped Oil Country Tubular Goods in the U.S. market, but the commission must rule that steel dumping has injured American manufacturers. Brown testified that unfair trade practices hurt the competitiveness of Ohio manufacturers.

“The oil country tubular goods, or OCTG, producers in Ohio include US Steel in Lorain, JMC in Warren, TMK in Brookfield, and Vallourec in Youngstown,” Brown said in his testimony. “The workers at these companies make oil country tubular goods for a range of companies that drill for oil and gas.And like other industry leaders in Ohio, these Ohio workers and manufacturers can compete with anyone in the world. But not if our trading partners are employing unfair trading practices designed to put our companies out of business. That is precisely what is happening in the case before you today.”