US Steel seeks China probe as Trump orders study

The Trump administration began an investigation of steel imports into the U.S. as U.S. Steel Corp. asked a trade agency to investigate its claims that rival Chinese manufacturers colluded to fix prices and undercut competitors in the American market.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Thursday encouraging the Commerce Department probe, which had already started and will explore whether steel imports hinder national security under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.

In an Oval Office ceremony, Trump declared the opening of the Commerce Department investigation “a historic day for American steel and most importantly for American steel workers.”

Imports have risen “despite repeated Chinese claims that they were going to reduce their steel capacity,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a briefing for reporters at the White House. “It’s a very serious impact upon the domestic industry.”

Still, when a reporter asked Trump whether the investigation would raise tensions with China as he seeks that country’s help in slowing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, Trump said the trade investigation “has nothing to do with China” and addresses “a worldwide problem.”

The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington heard U.S. Steel’s argument also on Thursday that a separate antitrust complaint it filed against Chinese manufacturers should be revived. A trade judge in November had thrown out the claim, saying the agency didn’t have the legal authority to hear the allegations.

From the beginning, the antitrust complaint has caught the attention of U.S. politicians, as members of Congress from both parties wrote to the commission, asking it to hear the case in full. Questions about the future of the American steel industry have became a hot political topic, with Trump signing a “Buy America” order to buoy American steel producers by forcing projects such as U.S. pipelines to use steel made in the country.

Steelmakers in the Americas just capped their best collective stock performance since 2003 following a raft of successful trade cases levying tariffs against foreign metal.