NEWS RELEASES - 1999

(Washington, D.C.) - The U.S. producers of specialty steel commended President Clinton and officials of his Administration for developing the new program addressing the steel import crisis that was announced by the White House yesterday. "The President's program addresses certain key areas of both short and long-term concern to the specialty steel industry," said James F. Will, Chairman of the Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA) and President and CEO of Armco Inc., a leading specialty steel producer in Pittsburgh PA.

"The program specifically focuses on the elimination of unfair trade practices that support excess production capacity. This is an issue we have raised in numerous antidumping and countervailing duty cases before the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission," Will said.

"The specialty steel industry also supports the improvements proposed to the 'early warning' system which will help identify developing trade problems. The strict enforcement by the Customs Service of antidumping and countervailing duty orders issued under the trade laws will help assure the effectiveness of cases we have won," Will said. He also noted that the national and international conferences on steel trade issues proposed by the President may develop long-term solutions to the cyclical steel trade problems.

Will also noted, "While we have made progress with our trade cases, the steel import crisis is certainly not over. In fact, imports of specialty steel have not returned to pre-crisis levels. The fundamental problems of excess global capacity, foreign government subsidization, and below-cost pricing continue to plague the industry. SSINA hopes that the Administration and Congress will support amendments to the trade laws to address these issues, including compensation for import-caused injury to U.S. companies. We also support a bill introduced by Congressman Phil English (R-PA) which addresses needed trade law amendments. We look forward to working with the Congress and Administration to solve these problems."

The group of steels known as specialty steel includes stainless and alloy tool steels, electrical steels, and super alloys. The alloy content of these steels distinguishes them from carbon steel, a different kind of steel with uses and applications unrelated to specialty steels.

The Specialty Steel Industry of North America is a Washington, DC-based trade association representing virtually all continental producers of specialty steel. Its U.S. members are ATI Allegheny Ludlum, Pittsburgh PA; Teledyne Allvac, Monroe, NC; AL Tech Specialty Steel Corp., Dunkirk NY; Armco Inc., Pittsburgh PA; Carpenter Technology Corp., Reading PA; Talley Metals Corporation, Hartsville, SC; G.O. Carlson, Inc., Steel Division, Thorndale PA; G.O. Carlson Inc., Electralloy Division, Oil City, PA; Haynes International, Kokomo, IN; J&L Specialty Steel, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA; North American Stainless, Ghent KY; Precision Rolled Products, Inc., Reno NV; Precision Specialty Metals, Los Angeles, CA; Republic Engineered Steels, Inc., Massillon OH; Special Metals Corporation, New Hartford, NY; Inco Alloys International, Inc., Huntington, WV; and Techalloy Company, Inc., Mahwah, NJ.