Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is spearheading a bipartisan letter to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), urging action on anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases involving foreign countries.
These cases specifically involve Egypt, Bulgaria, Algeria, and Vietnam, as well as the production of steel reinforcing bars (better known as "rebar"). These countries, which are not members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), are undercutting domestic production by heavily subsidizing their own rebar production while also maintaining lax labor and environmental standards.
In effect, this means that importers sell Egyptian, Bulgarian, Algerian, and Vietnamese rebar in the U.S. below its market value, thereby capturing significant market share at the expense of domestic manufacturers.
In the letter, Sen. Gallego expressed that "the U.S. rebar industry has been materially injured by unfair imports from these subject countries." "American companies and workers can outcompete companies from any other country. However, American rebar producers deserve to compete on a fair and level playing field."
He urged for continued investigation and full enforcement of U.S. trade laws, as it is "imperative that unfairly traded imports do not undermine American rebar producers and the thousands of workers they support."
The Arizona Senator had previously drawn attention to unfair trade practices in February 2025, when he cosponsored the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act, designed to counter unfair trade practices by China.
The bill establishes "successive investigations" to expedite new cases against companies and countries that repeatedly violate trade laws when moving production to another country. Other provisions include expanding the Department of Commerce's countervailing duty proceedings to include companies subsidized by foreign governments and imposing statutory requirements for anti-circumvention inquiries.
"For too long, bad actors have rigged the system to put American industries and our workers at an unfair disadvantage," Sen. Gallego emphasized. "The bipartisan Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act gives us the tools we need to hold them accountable and stop them from gaming the system. By strengthening our trade laws, we level the playing field for American businesses."
