WASHINGTON – President Obama told Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday that his administration has been more aggressive in enforcing actions against countries accused of dumping steel into the U.S. market.
"You're going to see firm, tough enforcement of our existing trade laws," said Obama, taking questions from U.S. governors at the White House.
Dayton's push was the latest in an all-out effort by Minnesota's politicians to get Washington to address what they call a crisis on the Iron Range. More than 2,000 workers have been laid off since last year — mostly due to a glut of steel in the global market and the slowdown of the Chinese economy.
State and local politicians have worked to extend unemployment benefits and other assistance to those experiencing job losses. But federal politicians have been more aggressive in pushing the Obama administration to do more to crack down on international trade practices.
They say some countries, like China, are reacting to their own economic slowdowns by selling excess steel in the global market for less than it costs to make, squeezing out local producers.
China makes about half the world's steel, more than the U.S., Europe and Russia combined. During the boom years, China's steel industry could barely keep up with surging demand. But the recent and wide-reaching economic slowdown has the country's steel producers flooding the world market.
Late last year, at the urging of Dayton, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken and Rep. Rick Nolan, Obama dispatched his chief of staff Denis McDonough to the Iron Range to hear from those who had been laid off.
Attending the National Governors Association meeting in Washington over the weekend, Dayton said he spoke to the president twice about the hardship on the Iron Range.
