While I support relief for the steel industry, I am livid that the President expects the American taxpayer and the steelworkers who have lost their jobs to pay for the illegal actions our foreign competitors. Perhaps if the Administration enforced our trade laws for a change, and penalized dumping, we would collect enough revenue to pay for tax relief for our domestic steel industry. The time for negotiating, monitoring and litigating are long past. Tax breaks and retraining will not bring back good-paying manufacturing jobs and industries vital to our national security. Our trade laws are exceedingly slow and not equitably enforced by the Administration.
Negotiations are at best a drawn-out process, and at worst, a handshake of empty promises.
America's steel industry and steelworkers need our help now. On the other hand, the ban has been challenged by pro-steel supporters for being too short, and therefore, ineffective. I would like to address both criticisms. First, a total, but temporary ban on steel is not an unreasonable action. I and many in Congress have been advocating for months.