Steel Caucus Urges Commerce to Keep Non-Market Economy Designation for Vietnam
A bipartisan letter from the Congressional Steel Caucus urged the Commerce Department to maintain Vietnam's non-market status as part of a review that is supposed to finish next month.
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The letter, publicized in a press release posted June 27, said that in 2018, Vietnam exported more than 1 million metric tons of steel to the U.S., and that Section 232 tariffs and 11 trade remedy circumvention orders are all that's constraining exports now.
"We understand the Administration’s broader desire to work with allies and partners in addressing challenges posed by China’s increasingly assertive conduct in the region and around the world. But neither the U.S. antidumping laws nor the industries and workers that rely on them should be treated as bargaining chips in those efforts," they wrote. The Caucus has 37 members, and is led by Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., and Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind.
"Vietnam has been injuring the American steel industry for years through unfair trade practices. Our government has a duty to protect American businesses and workers, and the Department of Commerce must reject Vietnam’s request. To grant Vietnam market economy status would be rewarding bad behavior and is a thumb in the eye to American steel," Crawford said in the release.