United States Congressman Mike Kelly is continuing to ask for a modification of current trade regulations to protect jobs at AK Steel.
Kelly was joined by a bipartisan group of colleagues in sending a recent letter to President Trump about the ongoing unfair trade practices threatening the domestic production of electrical steel.
Local Representatives Connor Lamb and Glenn Thompson also signed the letter which urged Trump to issue a proclamation to cover electrical steel under the existing trade program which would apply tariffs to products made in China but slightly modified in Canada or Mexico.
The Butler County Commissioners are also joining local congressmen in asking the U.S. Department of Commerce to address trade issues that are at the heart of the possible closure of AK Steel.
The commissioners wrote a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross asking him to submit a proclamation to change an electrical steel tariff that would to be signed by President Trump.
The commissioners say AK Steel generates nearly $110 million in payroll annually, so its closure would have a devastating economic impact.
AK Steel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs Incorporated and the last remaining producer of electrical steel in North America. The CEO and Chairman of Cleveland-Cliffs has said that without this loophole being closed, his company would be forced to close the AK Steel plant in Butler.
