In Brief : Steelworkers Ask Quota Extension

WASHINGTON — Steelworkers and producers of specialty steel, fearful that foreign competitors will begin dumping subsidized products on the market, called on the government today to extend import quotas for another five years.

Lynn Williams, president of the United Steelworkers, said President Bush and Congress should authorize the extension of import quotas, known as Voluntary Restraint Arrangements, to protect the 35,000 jobs in America’s $5-billion specialty steel industry. The current quota program is scheduled to expire Sept. 30.

“Our livelihood is at stake and we will do everything in our power to preserve those remaining jobs in the specialty steel sector,” he said at a news conference. President Bush supported the idea of extending the quotas during his campaign for the White House, so long as foreign countries engaged in unfair trade practices.

Richard Simmons, chairman of the Specialty Steel Industry of the United States, said the quotas must be continued because foreign competitors--including Japan, South Korea and European nations--are ready to flood the U.S. with cheap products.