State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HR0018

 
                                               LRB9100777MWgc

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The current financial crisis  in  Asia,  Russia,
 3    and  other regions has involved a massive depreciation in the
 4    currencies of several key steel-producing and steel-consuming
 5    countries, along with a collapse in the domestic  demand  for
 6    steel in these countries; and

 7        WHEREAS,  The  crisis  has generated and will continue to
 8    generate surges in United States imports of steel, both  from
 9    the countries whose currencies have depreciated in the crisis
10    and from steel-producing countries that are no longer able to
11    export steel to the countries in economic crisis; and

12        WHEREAS,  United  States'  imports of finished steel mill
13    products from Asian steel producing countries, including  the
14    People's  Republic  of  China,  Japan,  South  Korea,  India,
15    Taiwan,  Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, have increased by
16    79% in the first 5 months of 1998 compared to the same period
17    in 1997; and

18        WHEREAS, Year-to-date imports of steel  from  Russia  now
19    exceed  the  record  import  levels of 1997 and steel imports
20    from Russia and Ukraine now approach 2,500,000 net tons; and

21        WHEREAS,  Foreign  government  trade   restrictions   and
22    private  restraints  of trade distort international trade and
23    investment patterns and result in burdens  on  United  States
24    commerce, including absorption of a disproportionate share of
25    the diverted steel trade; and

26        WHEREAS,  The  European  Union, for example, despite also
27    being a major economy, in 1997  imported  only  one-tenth  as
28    many  finished  steel  products  from  Asian  steel-producing
29    countries as the United States did and has restricted imports
30    of   steel  from  the  Commonwealth  of  Independent  States,
31    including Russia; and
 
                            -2-                LRB9100777MWgc
 1        WHEREAS, The United States  is  simultaneously  facing  a
 2    substantial  increase  in steel imports from countries within
 3    the Commonwealth of  Independent  States,  including  Russia,
 4    caused in part by the closure of Asian markets; and

 5        WHEREAS,  The  United  States,  through the International
 6    Monetary Fund,  generously participates in a bailout  of  the
 7    crisis  countries  on  terms  that do not deter and, in fact,
 8    encourage them to export their way out of the crisis; and

 9        WHEREAS, There is a well-recognized need for improvements
10    in the enforcement of United States trade laws to provide  an
11    effective response to these situations; and

12        WHEREAS,  Increased  imports  of steel and steel products
13    from foreign countries will have a  negative  effect  on  the
14    steel  industry  in  Illinois  and  throughout  the  Midwest;
15    therefore, be it

16        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
17    NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
18    we  urge  the  President  of the United States to immediately
19    review the entry into the customs  territory  of  the  United
20    States  of  all  steel  products  that  are  the  produced or
21    manufactured in  Australia,  China,  South  Africa,  Ukraine,
22    Indonesia,  India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, or Brazil; and
23    be it further

24        RESOLVED, that if the  President  of  the  United  States
25    finds that the governments of Australia, China, South Africa,
26    Ukraine,  Indonesia,  India,  Japan,  Russia, South Korea, or
27    Brazil  are  not  abiding  by  the  spirit  and   letter   of
28    international  trade  agreements  with  respect to imports of
29    steel products into the United States, we urge the  President
30    to  immediately  impose  a one-year ban on the imports of all
31    steel products that are  produced  or  manufactured  in  that
32    non-abiding country; and be it further
 
                            -3-                LRB9100777MWgc
 1        RESOLVED,  that  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
 2    delivered to the President of the United States.

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