Senator Complains to Commerce on Section 232 Metals Exclusions

Sen. Ron Johnson, who leads the Senate committee charged with oversight, is complaining again to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross about the inadequacies of the Section 232 steel and aluminum exclusion process. Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, sent a letter Nov. 30 that said he appreciates that the department has begun to produce documents and has provided officials for briefings, but he questioned the logic of rejecting exclusions when the steel companies object, saying they could produce the quality and quantity now imported.

He said that Nucor, AK Steel and U.S. Steel have all said they could produce far more than they did in 2017 -- he cited a George Mason University study that said AK Steel promised four times last year's production, and U.S. Steel, twice last year's production. Nucor offered about 70 percent more production. "If the [Commerce] Department intends to deny exclusion requests based on steel companies' objections, it should also ensure that the steel companies have sufficient production capacity to meet the cumulative demand," he wrote.

He also asked the department to provide to his committee data on the cumulative amount the steel and aluminum companies have said they could produce in their objections, and the current capacity utilization of those firms. He asked it to justify how it weighs both capacity and verification and validation testing requirements for products when it evaluates exclusion requests. And he asked for an explanation of how the department ensures consistency in its standard of review. He asked for the total number of exclusion requests, objections, rebuttals and surrebuttals and the average time it takes to make a decision after the final rebuttal or surrebuttal has been filed.

The letter requested the materials be provided to the committee by the close of business on Dec. 14.