Tax man of steel: dumping on anti-dumping duties.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Citings - Brief article

IN OCTOBER THE U.S. International Trade Commission held hearings on whether to revoke anti-dumping duties on steel imports from 16 different countries, including the U.K. and Japan. The duties penalize foreign steel producers for failing to meet profit levels set by the U.S. government

A bevy of American steel-using companies are hoping the commission will let the duties rust away. Designed to help the domestic steel-making industry, they hurt America's steel-using industries by raising their costs and limiting their supply. As Dan Bridges, head of the Anaheim-based Aggressive Engineering Corp., complained to the Los Angeles Times, "Even if we made ourselves 100 percent more efficient it wouldn't offset the increase in costs we've seen due to the dumping charges."

The domestic steel industry hovers always, in its own poor-mouthing estimations, on the abyss of economic doom. The current fear is that China and India will become steel-making...