Mrvan Leads Congressional Steel Caucus Testimony to ITC on Unfair Imports of CORE Products

Washington, DC – On August 7, 2025, Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, Vice Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, along with Congressional Steel Caucus Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01), submitted testimony to the International Trade Commission (ITC) during their hearing on unfairly traded imports of corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) products from several countries. 

Specifically, the testimony to the ITC expresses concern that without effective relief in these cases on CORE, the onslaught of unfairly traded imports fueled by overcapacity will continue and negatively impact our domestic steel industry and the tens of thousands of direct and indirect good-paying, middle-class jobs that the industry supports. 

Vice Chairman Mrvan stated, “Our trade laws are crucial in protecting our thriving steel industry from other countries flooding our markets, pushing workers out of a job, and putting our industries out of production.  I will continue to stand up for American workers, whose livelihoods depend on the full enforcement of our trade regulations.” 

Chairman Crawford stated, “It is vital for our national and economic security to have a robust steel industry and the thousands of jobs it supports.  That is why we must use every tool to prevent bad actors from deliberately engaging in unfair trade and undermining our domestic markets.”

The text of the testimony submitted to the ITC is below and a pdf is available here. 

Dear Chair Karpel:

As the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, we write to express our support for the American steel industry and its workers in ongoing trade cases against unfairly traded imports of corrosion-resistant steel (*CORE") from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.  Given the challenges the industry has faced and continues to face from unfairly traded imports from the subject countries, strong enforcement of our trade remedy laws is essential in these cases.

In September 2024, domestic CORE producers and United Steelworkers filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking relief after imports from the subject countries flooded into the U.S. market at rock-bottom prices and captured sales and market share from the domestic industry.  Imports skyrocketed from roughly 2.26 million metric tons in 2023 to more than 3.3 million metric tons in 2024 - an increase of over 46 percent.  This surge in dumped and subsidized imports had devastating consequences, causing U.S. producers to suffer lost sales and revenues, significant unutilized capacity, and weak financial performance.  We believe that the relevant facts strongly support affirmative final determinations in these investigations with respect to imports from all 10 of the subject countries.

Our country needs a strong and healthy steel industry.  Thousands of American manufacturing workers in communities across the United States produce the CORE products at issue here.  CORE products are used in a variety of critical applications necessary for our economic and national security, including for the defense, automotive, construction, energy, and appliance sectors.  Leveling the playing field for U.S. producers of CORE is an essential investment in American innovation, production, and workers' standards of living.

The ITC is well aware of the harmful effects the domestic steel industry has experienced due to global overcapacity in steel production.  These effects only stand to worsen with reports of massive expansions of steelmaking capacity set to take place in Asia over the next few years. Without effective relief in these cases on CORE, the onslaught of unfairly traded imports fueled by overcapacity will continue and have disastrous results for this crucial industry and the tens of thousands of good-paying, middle-class direct and indirect jobs that the industry supports.  Now is not the time to deny trade relief to domestic steel producers.

U.S. trade remedy laws are intended to provide relief to U.S. industries that have been harmed by unfairly traded imports.  Nowhere is this more important than in the ongoing cases before the ITC on CORE.  It is imperative that the ITC strongly enforce the laws and reach affirmative determinations in these cases to ensure that the affected American steel producers and their workers can operate on a level playing field without being harmed by unfair trade.

Sincerely, 

Rep. Eric A. ‘Rick’ Crawford - Chairman

Rep. Frank J. Mrvan - Vice Chairman

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The Congressional Steel Caucus is a bipartisan group of over 100 Members of Congress dedicated to supporting the health and strength of the American steel industry and its workforce.