Amy Klobuchar: “I wish to speak about the importance of a level playing field for Minnesotan miners and American steel. My State's iron…”

“I wish to speak about the importance of a level playing field for Minnesotan miners and American steel. My State's iron ore mines and the thousands of Minnesota jobs they support are the backbone of the Iron Range. It started in the days when miners like my grandfather worked in the underground mines with picks and shovels and continues today in open-pit mines with giant electric shovels and haul trucks. Through the generations, these Minnesotans have earned a reputation for possessing a strong work ethic. They have proven that our miners on the range can compete with anybody in the world on a level playing field. Unfortunately, that fairness is being compromised by foreign trading practices that are putting steelworker jobs in jeopardy. The U.S. Department of Commerce is currently investigating the trading practices of countries that are dumping steel products in the U.S. market. This flood of foreign oil country tubular--OCTG--goods is causing our Nation's steel industry to lose sales and market to underpriced foreign competitors. An example is South Korea, which is the world's largest steel industry but has no domestic OCTG market. The result is Korean producers exporting more to the United States, creating a drop in the price of steel. While the U.S. demand for OCTG products is increasing, American producers are not seeing the benefits.…”