US SENATE PASSES TRADE ENFORCEMENT BILL CHAMPIONED BY STEEL INDUSTRY

The US Senate passed a trade bill on Thursday containing language from the long-awaited, steel industry-championed ENFORCE Act, and the bill awaits President Barack Obama's signature.

The Senate passed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (HR 644), which included provisions from the Enforcing Orders and Reducing Circumvention and Evasion (ENFORCE) Act. The American Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association said the reconciled bill contained what they wanted from the stronger, more enforceable Senate version of the bill.

"The ENFORCE Act would create new procedures at Customs and Border Protection to address the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty orders within set deadlines. If we do not strongly enforce our trade laws, the domestic steel industry will continue to suffer harm," AISI President Tom Gibson said in a statement.