WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) Leveling the Playing Field Act as part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reauthorization. The bill would help the steel industry – including Vallourec Star, which has a facility in Youngstown – fight unfair trade practices. In March, Brown met with Doug Polk, Vice President of Industry Affairs for Vallourec USA to discuss the negative impact of steel imports on the domestic steel industry, including the impact of dumping.

“In order to protect American jobs, Congress must ensure American companies can compete in a fair marketplace,” said Brown. “This enforcement provision will restore strength to our nation’s trade laws and fight back against unfair trade practices.”

The Leveling the Playing Field Act, which Brown introduced in March, would restore strength to antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) statutes that allow businesses and workers in the United States to petition the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission (ITC) when foreign producers sell goods in the U.S. below market price or receive illegal subsidies.

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