During Thursday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-IN) questioned Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick about Trump's steel tariffs and the Nippon Steel deal.
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00:00Thank you. Mr. Mervin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, it's a pleasure. I reside, I represent Northwest Indiana, the top steel producing capital within the nation. With that, giving credit where credit's due, Section 232 helped our steel industry, our steel workers, and also our trades in the first administration. Now as we go through this.
00:25So they're happy, right? Your constituents are happy. The market goes up and down, as you well know, in the steel industry. No, they were happy with Section 232. That's why I said I give credit where credit's due. Thank you.
00:40Yes, sir. So my underlying question is, ultimately, we want to make sure we have a level playing field and capacity in foreign countries such as China. They subsidize their steel, they flood the market, then my steel workers and people within my community lose their jobs.
00:56I'm going to give you an opportunity to talk about the 50% steel tariffs that are in place now. And I also want to talk about the concern that I have for downstream industries. Specifically, you had talked about in many different areas, reshoring domestic manufacturing.
01:13I am on board and have advocated for reshoring domestic manufacturing, the time it takes to invest those trillions of dollars and build up for capacity to build the, as you had mentioned, cars are being built in Mexico for America.
01:27How are we going to invest or how are you, one, the impact of the 50% tariffs, if you could discuss that with me? And then how is it affecting downstream industries? And what is the plan to make sure that those individuals who work in those plants that are downstream of the steel industries are going to be protected?
01:46So foreign countries subsidize the power, which is the biggest cost energy. And so China can produce steel at $450 a metric ton. And our price was generally just below $1,000. So they were basically put 40, uh, glass furnace companies out of business. So they basically were crushing steel in America.
02:15And Donald Trump came in and said, look, it's a subsidy. So we put on 25% and that moved the price up to about $900. And then it started to drift down because the Chinese are producing it at $450 because they don't pay for power.
02:31Right. And so the president said, I've got to protect domestic steel because his view is you can't fight a war unless you can make steel. You can't fight a war unless you can make aluminum.
02:42And the steel workers and aluminum workers of America are happy because they're being protected.
02:47Their reasonable price point is where we are right now, which is just below $1,000 metric done.
02:54We are going to build tens of billions of dollars have been committed because of that to building plants, mills.
03:02Can you give me examples of the promised investments?
03:06Hyundai promised $7.5 billion.
03:08Hyundai?
03:09Hyundai.
03:09Hyundai, you know, the Korean, uh, $7.5 billion plant.
03:14Um, there were, uh, a variety I met with the variety of steel makers who, uh, offered us about $6 billion of two new plants.
03:23Um, Nippon steel, $14.1 billion of new investment.
03:28That's a whole nother five minutes, but yes.
03:30I believe you.
03:30But those are commitments that we have.
03:32And in auto, we have $250 billion of commitments because of the tariffs to build and reshore in South Carolina, in Ohio, in Michigan, in Tennessee.
03:46These are all coming in because of our tariffs.
03:50Okay.
03:51So, along with tariffs is the enforcement that you talked about.
03:55So, what I, one of the reasons why I wanted to be in this committee is to be able to make sure that the enforcement side of it, the ITA, has the, has the resources necessary.
04:07Are you here making a commitment that there won't be cuts to the ITA that will reduce the resources that they need to make sure that the enforcement of the products that are coming into our country, that we can track that?
04:22Importing, exporting are key roles that we will never cut.
04:27We will only enhance.
04:29There are a whole variety of areas within these bureaus that you would agree with me, um, are just not necessary.
04:39So, we are re-examining what is important and putting the resources on that, which is most important.
04:47Okay.
04:49Um, I will wait for the second round to talk about Nippon, the Nippon deal.
04:54And just one very quick question.
04:55Were you in the room in the CFIUS committee for the Nippon deal?
05:01Yes.
05:02What was your recommendation?
05:05My recommendation was it could be approved with mitigation.
05:09Change.
05:10Okay.
05:11On my second round, and I'm, um, I would like to continue that conversation.
05:17With that, I yield back.