Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Successfully Gets EPA to Reverse Course on Steel Regulations
Brown warned the administration that the proposed rules would devastate Ohio steel manufacturers and workers
MEDIATION: President Joe Biden meets with traveling guests Ohio Senators Rob Portman (R), left, and Sherrod Brown (D) and staff members aboard Air Force One. COURTESY OF THE WHITE HOUSE
On March 18, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) successfully pushed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to overhaul its proposed rule related to emissions from integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities. Brown pushed the EPA and President Biden to reverse course and fix the previous proposed rule that would have devastated Ohio’s steel industry and cost American jobs.
Brown warned that the draftIntegrated Iron and Steel Rule would not further the goal of promoting a strong, environmentally sustainable American steel industry and instead result in more steel production moving overseas to countries like China that have weak environmental standards, resulting in higher – not lower – worldwide emissions.
“We made sure the Administration reversed course and fixed this rule to prevent more Ohio steel jobs from being sent overseas. We make the cleanest steel in the world in Ohio – the best thing we can do for Ohio workers and for our environment is to bring steel production home to Ohio, not push more manufacturing to countries like China where they pollute with impunity and cheat Ohio workers out of jobs” said Brown. “I will keep pushing the Administration to ensure that any rules support Ohio manufacturers and Ohio workers.”
“EPA’s final Integrated Iron & Steel rule improves upon many of the technically and economically infeasible mandates in EPA’s initial proposed rule. The fact is that Cleveland-Cliffs operates some of the cleanest, most carbon-efficient integrated steel mills in the world. We will continue driving down the environmental footprint of steelmaking through utilization of clean hydrogen in our blast furnaces and by deploying advanced steel decarbonization technologies," said Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President, and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. "Senator Brown recognizes that American-owned steel mills with skilled union workers are vital to the economic and national security of the United States. That’s why he led a bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators demanding that EPA reconsider its approach to these regulations. We are grateful for Senator Brown’s leadership on behalf of the integrated steel industry and its workers.”
Brown has long championed the Ohio steel industry and worked to strengthen U.S. trade enforcement, advocating to the Commerce Department and the ITC on behalf of Ohio steel companies and their workers. He is pushing the president to stop the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon, warning that the sale could jeopardize U.S. trade enforcement, and that Nippon has already made clear it does not value American Steelworkers. He also recently introduced bipartisan legislation to crack down on unfair Mexican steel imports.
Brown has introduced numerous bipartisan bills to strengthen U.S. trade enforcement, including the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws and ensure they remain effective tools to fight back against unfair trade practices and protect American workers. Brown’s original Leveling the Playing Field Act led to key wins for Ohio companies.
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