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Weirton Steel, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Praise Evans' Stand For Immediate Release The chief executive officers of the Upper Ohio Valley's steel companies today praised U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans for his position that tariffs on steel imports will remain in effect for three years. In a meeting at the Detroit Regional Chamber earlier this month, Evans told auto parts manufacturers the tariffs would remain in place for the three-year duration as originally planned by President Bush. The manufacturers complained the tariffs have raised the price of steel and they have been unable to pass increases on to automakers. James Bradley, of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., and Weirton Steel Corp.'s John Walker said the domestic steel industry needs the tariffs in place for the three-year period to help it recover from five years of surging steel imports. The steel leaders contend a significant portion of those imports were sold in the U.S. in violation of federal pricing and subsidy laws. "Before the start of the import crisis in 1998, these and other manufacturers were paying higher prices for steel than they are today. The tariffs did raise prices but, for the most part, they still have not returned to their pre-crisis price levels. The imports drove prices so low that today, eight months into the tariff program, they have yet to reach their norm," Bradley and Walker said in a joint statement. In March, Bush imposed descending tariffs on certain types of steel imports. For the first year, the tariffs were set at 30 percent, 24 percent for the second year and 18 percent for the final year. The tariffs have helped jump start a recovery process for domestic steelmakers.
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