Robert Berry: “I rise today because the steelworkers in Northeast Arkansas and all over this country are frustrated, and they are the…”

“I rise today because the steelworkers in Northeast Arkansas and all over this country are frustrated, and they are the most productive steelworkers in the world. They have lost faith in their government's promise to uphold its basic trade laws. The steel import figures for March show that imports are once again on the rise. Imports for March are 25 percent higher than the imports in February. Imports from Japan rose 36 percent; from Brazil, 54 percent; from Korea, 11 percent; from Indonesia, 339 percent. Compared to July of 1997, before the crisis began, Japan's imports are up 22 percent; Brazil's are up 25 percent; Korea, 77 percent; Indonesia, 889 percent. Clearly, the steel crisis is not over. Although they continue to assure us that they are negotiating and consulting with these nations, we continue to see higher rates of steel entering this Nation. The President warned Japan Monday to reduce its steel shipments to the United States on a consistent basis or the government will act to block them. The President also said during a news conference that the U.S. would act to keep Japanese steel out of U.S. markets if those imports continued to exceed the levels existing before the Asian economic crisis. How long does this crisis have to go on? Something must be done. We must take action now. Arkansas steelworkers have lost faith in their government because we have failed them by failing to enforce our own trade laws.”