WASHINGTON -- Steel imports into the United States dropped below pre-1998 levels in February in the strongest sign yet that the U.S. industry's misfortunes may be easing, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Shipments from Japan, one of the leading sources of foreign steel, were cut in half last month, compared with January. Imports of hot-rolled carbon steel, the chief subject of domestic producers' trade complaints, dropped 40 percent."It is now absolutely clear that Japan has not caused any injury to the U.S. steel industry," said Fujio Ono, a Japanese steel executive who heads the Japan Steel Information Center. "There is simply no justification for import restrictions of any kind."
Total steel imports into the United States were at 2 million metric tons, 15 percent below the 1997 monthly average of 2.4 million, according to the preliminary statistics released by the Commerce Department.