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Rick: FYI. The good Senator is making good on his promise to ask the
Senate Finance committee to initiate a 201. Chris is looking into this to see if he has the votes. Lisa ----- Forwarded by Lisa Yoho/NA/Enron on 05/17/2001 11:24 AM ----- Chris Long 05/17/2001 10:54 AM To: Linda Robertson/NA/Enron@ENRON, Lisa Yoho/NA/Enron@Enron cc: Subject: Rockefeller on Steel No. 96 Thursday May 17, 2001 Page A-25 ISSN 1523-567X Regulation, Law & Economics International Trade Rockefeller Asks Senate Finance to Act Against Steel Imports Under Section 201 Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said May 16 that he has asked the Senate Finance Committee to take action that could prompt the United States to restrict imports of steel from other countries--a move likely to be supported by the second-ranking Republican on the committee but opposed by its chairman. Saying he is running out of patience with the Bush administration, Rockefellor told reporters he has asked the committee to urge the U.S. International Trade Commission to begin an investigation into the cause of rising steel imports, which could result in President Bush's temporarily imposing import restrictions against the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and other countries under Section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act. "I've written the Finance Committee," he said, "asking for the initiation of a Section 201." Earlier this month, Rockefeller wrote President Bush asking him to initiate an ITC investigation under Section 201, noting that several U.S. steel companies had reported substantial losses in the first quarter of this year. "I am writing to let you know that we are in a do-or-die situation," Rockefeller wrote. "Failure to act now will be deadly. ...[T]he only immediate relief for the steel crisis is for you to initiate action under Section 201." Rockefeller said May 16 he also plans to introduce broader legislation May 17 aimed at providing relief to the U.S. steel industry. He did not rule out eventually attaching the measure to the tax bill now working its way through Congress but said, "Let me get it introduced first." Bush Nominee Notes Possible Action Earlier May 16, President Bush's nominee for a deputy U.S. trade representative slot, Peter Allgeier, said at a confirmation hearing of the Senate Finance Committee that the Bush administration was looking "very, very seriously" at possible action under Section 201. "I would like to assure you that [the administration is] looking very, very seriously at the issue of a possible 201 as part of our response to a very urgent problem," Allgeier said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick has provided members of Congress with similar assurances on several occasions since taking office earlier this year. On May 10, for instance, he told a House Appropriations subcommittee that a decision on possible Section 201 safeguard action should be made "within a matter of months or sooner." For his part, Sen. Charles F. Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the committee, said he would be "reluctant" to support committee action on the issue. "I would be reluctant to do that," he said. "I think our committee ought to be seen as honest brokers in that effort." Grassley told reporters he has been approached by "outside interests" that have urged him to back a committee request to the ITC on steel imports. "My message to them has been to work through the administration or file your own private action," he said. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), ranking Republican on the committee, said he would "probably" support Rockefeller's plan for the committee to "self-initiate" action under Section 201. "I don't want to be unfair to other countries," Hatch told reporters, "but I sure as heck don't want them to be unfair to us either. ... I want the administration to be on notice that we're watching them." Senate Letter on AD, CVD Laws Grassley, meanwhile, told reporters he did not sign the letter from 61 senators to President Bush earlier this month saying they will oppose any international trade agreement that would weaken U.S. laws aimed at protecting the U.S. market from unfair imports or unexpected import surges because a "worldwide discussion" of antidumping practices, for instance, "would benefit the United States more than it would benefit other countries." He said he opposes efforts being made by some members of Congress to require the Bush administration to ensure that U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws were "off the table" in multilateral trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization. "I don't think we have anything to fear having it on the table," Grassley said. Some countries, such as South Korea and Japan, argue that U.S. trade laws have been used for protectionist purposes and have proposed revisiting the issue in the WTO. Allgeier, meanwhile, said that U.S. trade laws actually promote trade liberalization. "American manufacturers, farmers, and workers will feel more confident with trade negotiations if they feel that they have recourse to address these unfair trade practices by our trading partners," he said. "And so we do not have any intention of weakening U.S. trade remedy laws in our negotiations." Allgeier said that the United States cannot prevent other countries from bringing up the issue in trade talks. Little Progress Made on TPA Grassley also told reporters May 16 he hopes that the Senate Finance Committee will be able to consider and approve legislation next month to renew the president's trade promotion authority, formerly known as "fast track." But he said that little progress has been made in discussions between his staff and the staff of Sen. Max S. Baucus (D-Mont.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, particularly concerning the contentious issue of labor and environmental protection in the context of trade agreements. "Our staffs have been talking on a very regular basis," Grassley said, "but that's not to say that there's been progress made." He said, however, he was still hopeful that the legislation could be cleared by the end of June, then approved by the full Senate before the next ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, scheduled to be held in Qatar Nov. 9-13. Also testifying at the Finance Committee hearing on May 16, President Bush's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the WTO, Linnet F. Deily, said that if confirmed, she plans to begin meeting immediately with representatives of other WTO member countries in Geneva-- "hoping to build relationships based on trust and candor." "I look forward to working with other WTO members to try and find common ground or reconcile our disparate positions, while always representing the strength of the U.S. position," she said. "I would like to understand other perspectives while being a forceful advocate for our U.S. positions." By Gary G. Yerkey Copyright , 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C.
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