March 28, 2007 — The U.S. imported a total of 2,655,000 net tons of steel in February 2007, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

The report, which is based on preliminary Census Bureau data, shows that February imports reflect a 10% decrease compared to the previous month (January 2007). The total includes 2,140,000 net tons of finished steel, an 11% decrease compared to January 2007’s final data.

Through the first two months of 2007, total and finished steel imports are up 1% and 8%, respectively, vs. the same period in 2006. Key products with large increases in February compared to the month before included

• Electrolytic galvanized sheets & strip, +131%
• Standard rails, +74%
• Cut-to-length plates, +51%
• Line pipe, +45%

For February, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from China (at 329,000 net tons), the European Union-27 (at 315,000 net tons), and South Korea (at 170,000 net tons). February marks the 9th consecutive month in which China was the largest or 2nd largest foreign supplier of steel to the U.S. market.

"Facing massive state-supported steel capacity expansions offshore and increasing foreign government interventions in raw material markets, steel imports in the United States are staying at an historically high level,” said AISI Chairman Louis L. Schorsch, who is CEO of Arcelor Mittal Flat Products Americas. "If the United States is to ensure that market forces win out in the global steel sector, there must be no weakening of our vital trade remedy laws, either in bilateral negotiations such as the proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement or in multilateral negotiations such as the WTO Doha Round."

“The February numbers remind us of why we need to defend, preserve and enhance our laws against dumped and subsidized imports, starting with the full and strict application of U.S. countervailing duty law to China and other non-market economies,” AISI President and CEO Andrew G. Sharkey III, said.

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