United States Steel Corp. welcomed the formation of a new caucus in the U.S. Senate focused specifically on manufacturing issues.

"We believe that the Senate Manufacturing Caucus can play a vital role in focusing the attention of policymakers on the challenges facing American manufacturers," said John P. Surma, President and CEO of U. S. Steel. "While the United States faces a number of key trade issues, none is more important than addressing the crisis facing our manufacturing sector."

Formation of the new Caucus comes at a critical time for U.S. manufacturers. Since April 2000, U.S. manufacturers have lost approximately 3 million jobs, or more than 17% of all manufacturing jobs in this country. U.S. trade deficits have exploded, with the trade deficit in goods increasing from $165.8 billion in 1994 to more than $665 billion in 2004. With more and more basic manufacturing industries exiting the United States, these trends simply cannot continue if a viable manufacturing sector is to be retained.

"The fact is that international rules are in a number of respects clearly tilted against U.S. manufacturers —including international tax provisions that favor foreign VAT systems, ineffective rules against currency manipulation and unfair trade practices, and inadequate guarantees of basic regulatory standards in international trade," commented Surma.

The new bipartisan caucus intends to hold hearings and roundtable discussions to explore issues, as well as to develop concrete legislative proposals to address problems affecting American manufacturing.

"I congratulate Senators Graham and Clinton for their foresight in creating this critical forum, as well as all of the Senators who will participate in the caucus," said Surma. "The time is long overdue for a serious and far-reaching manufacturing agenda, and we are hopeful that this caucus will play a central part in achieving that goal."