AK Steel Seeks Broad Section 232 Action

AK Steel is looking for a broad application of Section 232 that will address the continued increase in unfairly traded imports. CEO Roger Newport said during the second-quarter earnings conference call that trade cases are not working the way they were designed and hopefully Section 232 will address loopholes and those who figure out how to “beat the system.” Newport disagrees with the use of the word “protectionism” and said the industry simply wants a fair and level playing field.

The company is especially concerned about the unfairly traded import of grain-oriented electrical steels that are used in the nation’s electrical grids and are crucial to national defense. GOES imports from Japan, China and Korea have nearly doubled in the first five months of this year compared to last year. AK Steel was disappointed in the unsuccessful conclusion to the grain-oriented electrical steel trade case. Whatever the outcome of the Section 232 investigation, AK Steel plans to fight imports by coming up with new innovations such as its new non-oriented electrical steel that will increase electric motor efficiency for industrial applications and in hybrid automobiles.