mports of hot-rolled sheet from Japan, among other countries in the region. According to American Metal Market (1999),By June of 1999, the list of countries allegedly dumping steel has grown to include Argentina (28 percent), Brazil (32 percent to 63 percent), China (27 percent), Japan (49 percent to 53 percent), Russia (76 percent to 100 percent), South Africa (17 percent), Slovakia (35 percent to 44 percent), Taiwan (38 percent to 59 percent), Thailand (94 percent to 122 percent), Turkey (33 percent and Venezuela (25 percent to 56 percent). Cold-rolled imports from these countries totaled 2,283,710 tons in 1998, accounting for 13.7 percent of the total U.S. domestic market and 63.2 percent of all cold-rolled imports.THE EFFECTSThe dumping of foreign steel into the U.S. market can have a positive effect on the economy; However, dumping can effect the economy in a negative way as well. First lets look at the positive effects dumping has on the economy. The dumping of steel by foreign countries has caused the price of commodity grade sheet steel to drop to as little as $220 a ton, down from around $300 a ton. The lower prices due to steel imports have been a boon to steel-using industries, from carmakers to lawnmower manufacturers. Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs and increase their total profit. Companies that use steel in the manufacture of their products will benefit from the use of substitutes that the foreign steel companies provide through lower priced steel. This will allow the steel-using industries to hold the line on price increases of their products, allowing the American consumer to benefit from lower prices due to dumping. In 1998, the demand for steel was so great that domestic producer's were themselves taking advantage of cheap foreign produced steel. A number of domestic steel producers were buying cheap slabs from foreign producers to run through their mills. Domestic producers found that it ...
