Boston, MA 07/14/2014 (wallstreetpr) – United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) has long worried about the dumping of steel products in the U.S. market. In the past month, the company announced plans to idle its tubular steel plants because of poor sales amid heightened competition from foreign rivals.
However, the U.S. government last Friday moved to impose import tariffs on Korean steel. While South Korea steelmakers impacted by the move have termed the high tariffs and unfair, domestic players can celebrate a sweet victory in one of the hottest and politically charged trade battles in many years.
High cost of new wells
The punitive tariffs are also expected to impact the cost of new wells because the cheap tubular imports have always ended in the U.S. oil and gas sector.
In deciding to reduce the influence of the Korean steel exports into the U.S., the Commerce Department noted that the products were being offered at artificially low prices, thus hurting domestic players.
Mario Longhi, the CEO of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X), applauded the decision to impose higher tariffs on Korean steel. He noted that the move will save the U.S. economy while securing many jobs that were at risk because of the unfair competition from foreign rivals.
Korean Protest
On the other hand, officials at the Korean embassy in Washington protested the decision to increase tariffs on Korean steel imports. They said the move disturbs the playing field thus making it uneven for some players. They expected the U.S. government to stand up against the protectionist pressure but because that didn’t happen, Korea intends to challenge the move at the World Trade Organization or other possible options.
The executives of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) were at the forefront in condemning the manner in which the U.S. government allowed foreign competitions to dump steel products in the country at the expense of domestic companies. The executives lamented that a failure to protect domestic companies would deny them an opportunity to partake in the robust U.S. oil and gas industry.
