U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., is urging the International Trade Commission (ITC) to protect American jobs and the U.S. steel industry from imports of “unfairly traded” steel pipe from China.

During testimony on Tuesday before the ITC, Bayh said that American steel producers, including hot-rolled steel and pipe manufacturers in Indiana, are being undercut by circular welded steel pipe sold in the U.S. at as much as 85 percent below fair market value.

In November the U.S. Department of Commerce determined that Chinese companies producing circular welded steel pipe are subsidized by their government, giving them an unfair advantage in the world market over U.S. producers, according to a statement released on Tuesday by Bayh’s office.

“The subsidies, as I understand it, have been determined by the Department of Commerce to be as high as 265 percent in some cases,” Bayh testified. “The product is being sold in our markets at below the market price, in some cases as high as 85 percent below market price. This has led to a dramatic increase in a market share of Chinese competitors from, I believe, about 16 or 17 percent to 29 percent in a very short period of time.”

“Profit margins in the industry have shrunk from about a 10 percent profit margin to about a 3.4 percent profit margin,” Bayh added. “Roughly 120 people have been laid off because of this predatory activity. The State of Indiana is among the largest producers of circular welded pipe. One hundred and twenty people may not sound like a lot in the context of the national economy, but for some of our communities, it is a material injury and it has a cascading effect, indirect employment effects. Other activities in the communities are harmed because of the loss of business and employment.”

Posted 5/14/2008