Arlen Specter: “I have sought recognition for the purpose of introducing the Unfair Foreign Competition Act of 1999. This legislation is…”

“I have sought recognition for the purpose of introducing the Unfair Foreign Competition Act of 1999. This legislation is in response to a crisis facing the steel industry in the United States as a result of subsidized and dumped goods coming into the United States from a variety of countries--from Russia, from Brazil, from Japan, from Indonesia--where steel is being sold in the United States at far under cost of production and far under the price steel is being sold for in those countries. We know the financial problems which are present now in Russia where they are very anxious to have dollars and are selling steel in America for anything, virtually, that they can get for it. A similar problem has arisen with respect to other countries. The steel industry has modernized, spending some $50 billion, and simply cannot compete with this kind of subsidy on dumped goods. Thousands of steelworkers are losing their jobs. A few years back there were 500,000 steelworkers in the United States; now that number is down to about 160,000, and more are going daily and weekly as a result of this dumped steel coming into the United States. The existing laws are totally insufficient.”