The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has addressed policymakers in the Trump administration and key members of Congress with a plan that outlines the steel industry’s priorities for 2025 from the perspective of the organization’s members.
According to Kevin Dempsey, AISI President and CEO, this year provides an opportunity to take a holistic look at the key issues affecting steel production. The organization calls for three groups of priorities for the steel industry to be considered.
Trade and tax measures introduced during the first Trump administration, AISI said, have provided a more competitive environment for the US steel industry and helped increase investment in new capacity, research and development.
However, the industry faces significant challenges related to unfair trade practices in global markets and global overcapacity, which could contribute to a sharp increase in dumped and subsidized imports to the US market. In addition, AISI is calling for a review of several U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
The three groups of priorities named by AISI are as follows:
- strengthening existing trade measures to combat foreign unfair trade practices;
- ensuring common sense in regulation to promote innovation;
- implementing tax policies to encourage new and sustainable investment.
In particular, the American Iron and Steel Institute notes that global overcapacity in the steel industry reached 573 million tons in 2024. The organization emphasizes that policies that distort trade in the industry are applied not only by China but also by a number of other countries.
Due to the current Section 232 tariffs, as well as significant anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese steel, most of China’s exports do not go directly to the United States, AISI says. However, the widespread transshipment of steel through third countries means that these exports still affect the US market.
The organization proposes improvements to the Section 232 program, including measures to combat importers’ abuse of the current waiver process. American steelmakers are also calling for improvements to Section 301 measures, the adoption of the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act, and the updating of the USMCA.
Among other things, AISI calls on the new administration to balance environmental protection with reasonable regulations by revising a number of relevant regulations and improve tax policy to support the US global competitiveness.
As GMK Center reported earlier, US steelmakers have supported Trump’s trade policy. Industry associations have expressed their readiness to cooperate for the development of the US steel industry.
