WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin today criticized the Bush Administration’s decision to immediately lift tariffs imposed less than two years ago on foreign imported steel because of unfair trading practices. The tariffs were to last until March 2005.

"The ‘enhanced monitoring’ that has been mentioned by the Bush Administration is already in place and is nothing new. Without a countervailing penalty for dumping, monitoring will accomplish very little," said Rep. Cardin.

The Congressman has introduced the Trade Law Reform Act, HR 2365, to strengthen antidumping and countervailing duty laws to help U.S. companies more effectively combat unfair trading practices from foreign competitors. "Now more than ever we need this legislation to help the U.S. industries."

The Congressman, who represents thousands of workers at the International Steel Group (ISG) plant in Sparrows Point, MD, has strongly supported continuing the Section 201 remedy for the full three years so that the "U.S. steel industry can undertake further consolidation and restructuring. Since March 2002, the Section 201 remedy has enabled the U.S. steel industry to make some important changes, but the industry needs the full three years to complete the process."

In 2000, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that "structural problems" existed in the global steel market and that many foreign governments subsidized their domestic steel industry. It also reported that large foreign markets such as Japan, China, Brazil and India maintain substantial barriers to U.S. imports.

The Congressman, a leader of the House Steel Caucus, recently introduced H.Res.445, which had called for President Bush to maintain the tariffs for the full three-year term. Rep. Cardin pointed out that the United States continues to absorb a far higher proportion of imports than does the European Union or Japan. "In fact, among the most highly developed countries, the United States is the largest net importer of steel."

In 2001, the International Trade Commission recommended sanctions against foreign manufacturers who flood the U.S. market with illegal, below-cost imports. In March 2002, President Bush imposed the Section 201 remedy, which imposed higher tariffs on steel imports.