| CITAC Testifies In Injury Hearing on September 17
William
E. Sopko, President, Stamco Industries Inc.
Testimony
of John C. Kennedy, President and CEO.
Testimony
of Lewis E. Leibowitz, Hogan & Hartson LLP.
Testimony of William
E. Sopko
President, Stamco Industries Inc.
Euclid,
Ohio and Chairman,
Precision Metalforming Association ("PMA")
September 17, 2001
Thank you. I am Bill
Sopko, CEO of Stamco Industries, Euclid, Ohio (in my state, the ratio
of steel consuming jobs to steel production jobs is 20:1). I am the current
Chairman of the Precision Metalforming Association ("PMA") and
a proud member of CITAC, the Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition.
Import restrictions
on steel will injure my business and all metalformers. We cannot accept
this.
My company makes a
variety of parts for car, light truck and heavy truck braking systems
as well as other parts. Steel is our major production input. In this respect,
Stamco Industries is hardly unusual. This Commission must understand the
importance of open access to raw materials for all American steel-using
manufacturers. Most steel users are small businesses, like mine (120 employees).
We buy steel with the necessary quality to meet our needs and our customers'
needs. If we don't meet those needs, someone else will. And we will be
out of business. In our Exhibit 1, CITAC illustrates the magnitude of
this issue by showing the number of steel-consuming jobs in each state
and comparing them with steel-production jobs.
American steel producers
make enough steel in the aggregate to satisfy only about 75 percent of
demand. But the problem is much more serious than that. In my own business,
I must use imported steel because domestic steel for certain applications
does not always meet the necessary requirements. We also need to assure
our supply by having more than one supply source. Imports are not optional,
but essential for my company.
As I said, my company's
situation is common. Companies around the country buy imported steel that
does not compete with domestic steel. Imports give these buyers specifications
that we cannot obtain domestically. Those imports do not compete with
domestic production and therefore cannot injure any domestic industry.
Neither do imports that complement domestic supplies by providing security
of supply.
During the course
of these hearings, you will hear from numerous businesses that need steel
they cannot get from domestic sources. It is critical to these companies
that you allow them to maintain access to these products.
Thank you.
Testimony of John
C. Kennedy
President and CEO, Autocam Corporation
Grand Rapids, Michigan
September 17, 2001
Good afternoon. I
am John C. Kennedy, President and CEO of Autocam Corporation, located
in Grand Rapids, Michigan (where the ratio of steel consuming jobs to
steel producing jobs is 68:1). Autocam is a world leader in the design
and manufacture of tight-tolerance metal components, for applications
such as fuel systems, braking systems, power steering systems, surgical
devices, and computer electronics.
I appreciate the opportunity
to speak on behalf of America's consuming industries in this Section 201
investigation. There are 12.8 million American workers and more than 100,000
businesses in this country that use steel products in their operations
(57 times as many jobs as in steel production). These companies risk hardship
and, in some cases, extinction if access to imports is restricted.
Why are we so concerned
about trade restrictions? My company provides a good example. We must
compete, every day, on costs, on prices, on terms of sale and delivery
and on quality with the best competitors in the world.
Steel costs are a
significant part of our production costs. We cannot survive in the United
States for long if we pay higher prices for steel than in other markets.
We will lose sales to our international competitors. We would have to
move our operations out of the country to survive. Our U.S. workers would
pay the price for steel protection. We want to avoid that. We strongly
urge the Commission to examine the issue of global steel prices in this
case.
At Autocam, and throughout
the U.S. economy, we know that trade restrictions will not help steel
producers whose problems are much deeper and more complex than steel imports.
And it will hurt everyone else in the American economy, including my company.
We must look for better solutions.
Thank you.
Testimony of Lewis
E. Leibowitz
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Washington, D.C.
Counsel to Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition, ("CITAC")
September 17, 2001
Good afternoon. My
name is Lewis Leibowitz. I serve as counsel to CITAC, a growing coalition
of companies in the United States that employ millions of Americans and
depend on imports for manufacturing, distribution, retailing and other
commercial activities. See our Exhibit 1. Our time is very short today;
I want to make two basic points on the importance of the injury phase
of this case to consuming industries.
1. CITAC strongly
urges the Commission to place the burden of proving injury and causation
squarely on the complaining industries, where the law places it.
2. We know that many
products are not available from domestic sources and that the U.S. industry
cannot produce enough steel to satisfy the American market. Therefore,
we urge the Commission to consider, in the injury phase, whether imports
of specific subject products that do not compete directly with domestic
production can properly be deemed a cause, substantial or otherwise, of
"serious injury." Commission precedent supports this analysis,
which is directly applicable to Section 201.
A fair resolution
of this case requires that the Commission consider these points. Steel
using industries cannot afford an incomplete analysis at any phase of
this case.
Thank you.
|