WASHINGTON, D.C. (WVDN) – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) led colleagues in writing a letter to Amy Karpel, Chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission, pushing back against efforts by foreign nations that they claim are to manipulate and undercut the American rebar industry and its workers.
Specifically, the letter requests that the U.S. International Trade Commission review antidumping (Ad) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases against Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Vietnam and ensure our trade laws are fully enforced.
“American companies and workers can out compete companies from any other country. However, American rebar producers deserve to compete on a fair and level playing field. As your important work on these investigations continues, we urge you to carefully review the evidence presented and fully enforce our trade laws. It is imperative that unfairly traded imports do not undermine American rebar producers and the thousands of workers they support,” the senators wrote.
“We thank Senator Capito for her leadership in advocating for strong enforcement of our trade laws,” said Randy Spicer, Executive Vice President of Bar and Engineered Bar at Nucor Corporation. “Ensuring a level playing field is essential for the Nucor team and is critical to sustaining American manufacturing and the domestic rebar industry.”
In addition to Senators Capito and Gallego, U.S. Senators Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) also signed the letter.
Full text of the letter can be found here or below:
Dear Chair Karpel:
We write regarding the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases against Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Vietnam for the unfairly traded imports of steel reinforcing bar (“rebar”). These trade cases are critical to push back against efforts to manipulate the global market and undercut the American rebar industry and its workers. We thank the Commission for its investigation and urge the vigorous enforcement of U.S. trade remedy laws.
Rebar is a simple product, but it plays an essential role in our economy, with the domestic rebar steel industry supporting thousands of good-paying jobs in 29 states. Rebar is the backbone of construction, strengthening our nation’s buildings, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure. Domestic steel producers are making significant investments to expand the country’s rebar production, including plant openings and expansions from 2022 to 2025 totaling nearly $2 billion and 2,680,000 tons in additional capacity. These efforts, however, are being undermined by unfairly traded imports fueled by significant government subsidies, including indirect subsidies in the form of lax labor and environmental standards. According to an OECD study, non-OECD countries, including Algeria and Egypt, provided seven times more grants per unit of steelmaking capacity in 2021 compared to the U.S. and other OECD countries. These subsidies have allowed importers to target the U.S. market and price rebar below market value 84 percent of the time, capturing significant market share at the direct expense of American manufacturers.
Unfortunately, unfairly traded rebar imports from the subject countries increased 23.5 percent from 2022 to 2024, causing rebar prices to drop significantly over the time period from $1.03/kg to $0.59/ kg, resulting in sharp declines in profitability for the domestic industry as well as underutilization of existing assets and delay of new investments. This profitability decline and underutilization demonstrated that the U.S. rebar industry has been materially injured by unfair imports from these subject countries.
American companies and workers can out compete companies from any other country. However, American rebar producers deserve to compete on a fair and level playing field. As your important work on these investigations continues, we urge you to carefully review the evidence presented and fully enforce our trade laws. It is imperative that unfairly traded imports do not undermine American rebar producers and the thousands of workers they support.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this important matter.
