Weirton Steel isn't happy yet
By Staff -- Purchasing, 10/7/1999
A bill before Congress is drawing support at least from Weirton Steel. The proposed "Fair Trade Law Enhancement Act" is aimed at combating illegally traded imports. The White House opposes the measure because of world trade commitments, but Weirton Steel's president, Richard Riederer, says the measure features 16 safeguards to tighten up importing laws and put more teeth in them.American steel interests have complained that dumping of cut-rate steel on the U.S. market is reaching crisis proportions for the industry. And Riederer's views show that "the ongoing protectionist campaign to disrupt the steel market is continuing," comments Brink Lindsey, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, which generally opposes trade sanctions. "What we have seen over the past several months is a rampage by the U.S. steel industry in filing unfair trade cases," Lindsey says. "The results are an ongoing disruption of U.S. steel trade."
The Weirton Steel president says the federal government loan guarantee and other planned trade actions fall short in addressing a laundry list of problems plaguing steelmakers. The company blames four straight losing quarters and 265 short-term layoffs on foreign steel sold at unfair prices in the U.S. Riederer says that Washington "still must be pressured to enforce or change existing trade laws, or complacency will set in."
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