The Administration fully supports the industrys right to avail itself of the safeguards mechanism under US. law for these and other steel productsConsistent with the Administrations determination to date to act expeditiously and vigorously to enforce U.S. trade laws, any affirmative ITC recommendation will be acted on in a timely manner" -Report to Congress on a Comprehensive Plan for Responding to the Increase in Steel Imports, January 7, 1999, p. 17

This pledge for prompt action probably rings rather hollow to 90 steelworkers at the Keystone Steel and Wire Company in Peoria, Illinois. These men and women lost their jobs in mid-September when their employer decided it could no longer afford to compete with imports of steel wire rod. If the Administration had kept its pledge of timely action, these workers might have well kept their jobs.

Of course, the Clinton administration cannot be expected to save every single American job from the threat of foreign competition; to do so would prove impractical and immensely costly. Surely, every American now at least understands that one of the realities of globalization is more competition from imports. The Peoria steelworkers, however, have a unique claim against the Clinton administration, a claim that both "protectionists" and "free traders" should support.

With the encouragement of some in the Clinton administration, the U.S. steel wire rod industry -- of which the Peoria steel workers were a part filed a Section 201 complaint alleging serious injury from imports. Their case proceeded in a timely fashion to the International Trade Commission (ITC), where half of the Commissioners agreed with their claim and recommended tariff relief. Under Section 201, a tie vote by the ITC is effectively considered an affirmative decision so the case went to the President for a final decision.

Under the law, a final decision was due on September 27th. But the workers in Peoria never got the news they were hoping for from the White House. In fact, they never got any news at all. Now, two months after the statutory deadline, a deadline the Administration promised to meet promptly, no decision has been forthcoming.

The Clinton administration delayed another similar decision on lamb meat earlier this summer for a shorter period, but before these two decisions, no President had ever missed a statutory decision on Section 201 relief.

The utter disregard with which the Clinton administration has treated this deadline is particularly disturbing because Section 201 is widely seen as a law with many virtues. Unlike some other proposals for trade relief, temporary import relief under Section 201 is entirely endorsed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Further, Section 201s temporary import relief tied to an industry plan to adjust to become more competitive has been successful in returning the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company, the specialty steel industry, and others to competitive health.

Further, Section 201 has been a critical safety valve for free trade. As the founders of the world trading system recognized, increases in imports will occasionally create economic dislocations. If there is no mechanism to ease those dislocations, opposition to free trade is likely to build up and, ultimately, undermine the entire trading system. Thus, Section 201 is critical to maintaining support for free trade. For this reason, Section 201 has been s upported by lawmakers across the ideological and political spectrum.

The Administration seemed to realize this vital role of the statute earlier in the year when it promised quick action under Section 201; that promise, by the way, came when the Administration was attempting to halt congressional action to impose quotas on steel imports. Apparently, the promise was only good as long as the threat of legislation was real.

Despite the WTO consistency of Section 201, despite its good record of encouraging adjustment, and despite its vital safety valve function, the statute has fallen into disuse in recent years. As the case at hand demonstrates rather starkly, this administration does not treat temporary safeguard actions as a serious option. Section 201 has been and should continue to be a vital part of U.S. trade policy. The steel import crisis demonstrates the ongoing need for temporary import control mechanisms. If, however, the White House does not treat Section 201 as a serious and credible option, no one else will either. Industries facing import competition will find other options, many of which are mush less attractive than Section 201

Ironically, President Clinton kicked off his campaign in favor of new WTO negotiations at a Harley Davidson motorcycle plant. Fortunately for him, President Reagan hardly a knee jerk protectionist took the complaints of Harley Davidson under Section 201 more seriously than he has taken those of Keystones steel workers otherwise he might have had to find another site for his photo opportunity. Whatever the excuse for White House inaction, the workers at Keystone and their brethren around the country deserve better treatment.