U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-1st, testified on Thursday before the U.S.
International Trade Commission on countervailing duty (CVD) and anti-dumping
(AD) orders, at a hearing specifically addressing carbon-quality
circular-welded pipe from India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and
Vietnam.
Visclosky argued in his testimony that unfair foreign subsidies hurt
American steel and manufacturing jobs.
Excerpts from Visclosky’s testimony:
“As you are well aware, in this case, the imports of circular welded pipe
from India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam increased from
106,172 tons in 2009 to 206,026 tons in 2011. In the course of the
investigation into this increase, the Department of Commerce has found this
past year in its preliminary determinations that Indian producers have
received countervailable subsidies of 298.95 percent, and Vietnamese
producers have received subsidies ranging from 0.04 percent to 8.06 percent.
The Department of Commerce also found in its preliminary decisions on
anti-dumping allegations that there have been dumping margins of up to 48.43
percent for India, 27.96 percent for Vietnam, 5.59 percent for Oman, and
11.71 percent for the United Arab Emirates. I urge you to adhere to these
recommendations from the Department of Commerce, and send the signal to
these countries and to countries across the globe that we have zero
tolerance for even the slightest trace of illegal subsidies.
“The sudden surge of imports is devastating to our American steelworkers,
who are still fighting to get on solid ground in this fragile economy. We
must do everything possible to ensure that they are able to compete on a
level playing field. . . .
“Members of the Commission, while our recovering economy is making strides,
with our national unemployment rate decreasing to 7.8 percent in September,
we must remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure the strength of our
manufacturing base. As you may know, while there have been consistent
positive increases in job creation as a whole, this past month there was a
decrease of 16,000 workers in the manufacturing sector, the second month in
a row that the manufacturing sector has declined since January 2010. Now is
not the time to relax. Now is the time to redouble our efforts and our
commitment to American workers.”
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