Economy
AISI tells Congress to tighten trade legislation
Written by Ethan Bernard
March 1, 2024
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) is urging Congress to strengthen US trade laws.
Specifically, Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of AISI, asked Congress to incorporate the provisions of the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act in any trade legislation that moves forward this year.
“This legislation expressly provides the US Department of Commerce with the authority to use the countervailing duty law to address the growing problem of cross-border subsidies,” Dempsey said in a letter to Congress dated Feb. 27.
“It would also address the current lack of statutory deadlines for Department of Commerce circumvention inquiries, which result in significant delays for industry efforts to obtain relief against dumped and subsidized imports,” he added.
Dempsey said that currently “our trade laws have not kept up with the efforts of China and other nations to circumvent and evade trade enforcement measures.”
He was writing regarding the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee’s potential consideration of trade legislation, the letter said.
Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Economy
Fed Beige Book: Economy improves, but manufacturing weak
While general economic conditions across the US improved slightly over the last six weeks, activity in the manufacturing sector was weak, according to the Fed’s latest Beige Book report.
SMU Community Chat: Simonson with the latest on construction
A lot of economists were predicting a recession last year. Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), wasn’t one of them.
Housing starts slip to seven-month low in March
Following a strong February, US housing starts eased through March to a seven-month low, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.
Manufacturing activity in New York state continues to soften
New York state saw a continued decline in manufacturing activity in April, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Worldsteel projects steel demand to grow 1.7% this year
Global steel demand will reach roughly 1.793 million metric tons (1.976 million short tons) this year, an increase of 1.7% over 2023, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said in its updated Short Range Outlook report. The gain will come after a 0.5% contraction in steel demand in 2023. Demand is forecasted to increase another 1.2% […]