United Steelworkers Local 6787 Vice-president Pete Trinidad testified last week before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C., urging support for continued duty orders against imports of cut-to-length steel plate (CTLP) from India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and Korea.

Trinidad described “the last decade of steelworker sacrifices to keep the facilities operating in the face of unfair, subsidized, imports and a weak market,” Local 6787 said in a statement released on Monday.

Tariffs on CTLP were first placed on imports in 2000 for the standard five-year duty order period, then were continued in 2005 by an ITC sunset review.

A second sunset review is scheduled for early December and if affirmed the duties on CTLP will be maintained for another five years.

“Five U.S. steel companies operating plate mills in seven states and employing about 4,000 steelworkers are at stake,” Local 6787 said. “Thousands of additional jobs are tied to the supply of raw materials, maintenance, and transportation.”

Posted 10/25/2011