In a hearing before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce, steel executives and labor leaders alike said that all of the excess steel is undermining prices and costing the U.S. jobs.

“Today, more than 13,500 steelworkers across the country are holding layoff notices that they have received from their employers. Statistics and an academic discussion of free trade do not mask the pain that has been inflicted on hard-working American families by unfair trade practices and policies that essentially ignore the impact of trade on real people,” said United Steelworkers international president Leo Gerard in written testimony.

"We need an immediate action plan to address this crisis that includes: broad-based import restraints; comprehensive, enforceable measures to reduce global overcapacity; a definitive statement declaring that China does not qualify as a market economy under U.S. law along with engagement with the European Union to ensure that they do not grant China market economy status later this year; stimulation of domestic demand; aggressive enforcement and expansion of domestic procurement policies; and, retention of domestic procurement policies in international trade negotiations,” Gerard said.  

Also testifying on Tuesday was TimkenSteel chairman and CEO Tim Timken.

Timken previously said he hoped to argue for more diligent enforcement of U.S. trade laws, according to The (Canton, Ohio) Repository newspaper. He also said he intended to stress the importance of securing commitments from other countries to address their capacity problems.   

The hearings are to continue Wednesday, when Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman will hear from representatives from Nucor Corp., Steel Dynamics Inc. and the Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute, among others.

The Congressional Steel Caucus will take up the matter on Thursday, when it holds its own steel overcapacity hearing, according to Politico.