U.s. congressman Rodney davis proudly representing the 13th district of illinois

U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Mike Bost (R-Ill.), and John Shimkus (R-Ill.) sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker urging a meeting to discuss trade enforcement-related matters. The delegation’s request comes in the wake of U.S. Steel’s recent announcement that they may temporarily idle operations at their Granite City Works facility.

“Steelworkers in my district cannot wait for the federal government to implement trade provisions that were signed into law months ago,” said Davis. “We need the U.S. Department of Commerce to act now. We need them to implement the changes my colleagues and I authored to hold countries who break our trade laws accountable and prevent further job loss within our steel industry.”

“We must work together on behalf of our steelworkers and their families to ensure this rollercoaster ride doesn’t continue,” said Bost. “Rep. Davis and I were successful in securing enhanced trade remedies to protect against illegal trade practices. I am eager to hear from the Department of Commerce how these provisions will be implemented and help restore certainty and ensure that our efforts to put American workers on an even playing field in the global marketplace are successful.”

“Trade legislation signed in the law earlier this year included important anti-dumping and countervailing duties provisions authored by Reps. Bost and Davis,” said Shimkus. “It’s imperative that we get an update on the implementation of these provisions before the House considers any new trade agreement with countries that may have engaged in unfair trade practices.”

Currently, three anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions filed by several companies in the domestic steel industry are before the International Trade Commission (ITC). Earlier this year, the President signed into law a provision Bost and Davis introduced to protect American workers from the illegal dumping of foreign products in U.S. markets.

Text of the letter sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce is as follows:

Dear Secretary Pritzker:

We are writing to request a meeting to discuss trade enforcement related matters, including the status of three anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions filed by several companies in the domestic steel industry. Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

As you may know, on June 2, 2015, July 28, 2015 and August 11, 2015 several companies in the domestic steel industry filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty remedy petitions alleging unfairly traded imports of corrosion-resistant, cold-rolled steel and hot-rolled steel from various nations. All of these cases have been certified to proceed by the International Trade Commission.

On June 29, 2015, the President signed into law provisions of the American Trade Enforcement Effectiveness Act (Pub. Law No. 114-27, §§ 501-507, 129 STAT. 383-387) to improve the applicability of anti-dumping and countervailing duty remedies to unfairly and illegally traded imports. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the implementation of these provisions in general, and in the recently filed petitions in particular.

This matter is urgent. On October 6, 2015, United States Steel Corporation announced the potential idling of its Granite City Works plant located in Granite City, Illinois. Among the factors influencing this decision are unfairly traded imports. More than 2,000 workers at the facility could be negatively impacted.

Once again, we appreciate your consideration of this request. If you have further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us or Mark Ratto with Representative Mike Bost, Frank Santana with Representative Rodney Davis or Jim Goldenstein with Representative John Shimkus. We look forward to hearing from you.