Economy
August 31, 2017
Zekelman Makes Case for Trade Intervention
Written by Tim Triplett
Barry Zekelman calls himself a free-trader. Yet his company, Zekelman Industries, filed a trade case last year alleging that Chinese producers of circular welded steel pipe were guilty of evading U.S. import duties. Espousing free trade while suing to block imports may seem like a contradiction, but Zekelman made a good case for his position as a panelist at SMU’s Steel Summit Conference this week in Atlanta.
Zekelman Industries is the largest pipe and tube producer in North America, with about $2.5 billion in annual revenues and an annual volume of 2.2 million tons. Zekelman is among the 23 steel industry executives who signed a letter sent to Washington on Tuesday urging President Trump to impose a combination of quotas and tariffs on imports of foreign-made pipe and tube products as part of the ongoing Section 232 investigation.
