Pentagon Agrees to Use Only U.S.-Produced Steel for Armored Vehicles
04/03/2013 - In a potential win for domestic steel makers, the Pentagon has agreed to buy only U.S.-made steel for armored vehicles and other military equipment, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
In a potential win for domestic steel makers, the Pentagon has agreed to buy only U.S.-made steel for armored vehicles and other military equipment. That means not only steel tempered in the United States for its final use but also steel melted in the United States - an important distinction for steel makers who objected to the Defense Department buying the raw product overseas.
Ohio companies including Cleveland’s ArcelorMittal and Cliffs Natural Resources, and Marion’s Nucor, have been involved in armor-plate production, said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, suggesting they could benefit from the decision.
The Defense Department for 35 years required thin-gauge armor steel to be melted and finished in the United States or certain partner countries with which it shared military agreements. But it changed the rule in 2009 amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and high demand for steel used in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.
This led to purchases of steel melted in Russia, China and Mexico but finished in the United States, according to complaints from Brown and other lawmakers from steel-producing states…
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