U.S. Steel and Iron Producers and their Workers Urge President Trump to Keep Buy America Strong

Dear President Trump:

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, which represent the overwhelming majority of domestic steel and iron producers and their workers, we write to express our absolute and unqualified support for Buy America domestic procurement preferences in U.S. law. Together, as the iron and steel backbone of our nation’s infrastructure, we stand ready to work with you to strengthen our nation’s Buy America laws, create manufacturing jobs, and rebuild America.

The foundation of a strong Buy America program is the longstanding requirement that all steel manufacturing processes occur in the United States for a product to be Buy America compliant – from the actual steel production to the finishing processes. In fact, this “melted and poured” standard has been successfully applied since 1983. Requiring that all manufacturing processes occur domestically ensures that every critical stage of the steelmaking process occurs in the United States, encouraging R&D, capital investment, and jobs here in America. Strong Buy America laws maximize the return on the nation’s investment in our infrastructure.

The American steel and iron industries and their workers strongly oppose efforts to weaken Buy America by allowing imported steel that is finished in the United States to be used in taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects. Such an unwarranted change would encourage the outsourcing of the major elements of the steelmaking supply chain that account for a majority of the capital investment and employment. Buy America is and should continue to be a preference for steel that is produced in the United States – not a preference for foreign-produced steel that is merely finished here. This distinction has enormous implications for capital investment and jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Put simply, steel is “made” here only if it is “melted” here.

Mr. President, thank you for your “Buy America, Hire America” pledge. We look forward to working with you to ensure that Buy America remains strong and that our infrastructure is built with steel that is melted and poured in America.

Sincerely,

Cc: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
House Speaker Paul Ryan
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi