1.1 	A resolution
1.2 	urging the President and Congress of the United States to take action to halt the 
1.3 	illegal dumping of foreign steel into the United States market.
1.4 	WHEREAS, steel is the backbone of our economy and is critical to economic and national 
1.5 	security by supporting our bridges, taking our buildings to new heights, transporting goods and 
1.6 	services, and existing in everyday appliances in our homes; and 
1.7 	WHEREAS, Minnesota is America's largest producer of iron ore, a natural resource and 
1.8 	key ingredient in the steelmaking process, with Minnesota and Michigan collectively shipping 93 
1.9 	percent of usable iron ore products in the United States in 2014; and
1.10 	WHEREAS, iron ore mining and manufacturing have been significantly undermined by 
1.11 	steel imports from foreign nations that are priced far below market value; and
1.12 	WHEREAS, some companies in China, South Korea, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, 
1.13 	Thailand, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia are selling their products in the United States  at predatory 
1.14 	prices; and
1.15 	WHEREAS, dumping foreign steel into the United States is a violation of international 
1.16 	trade agreements and must be halted; and 
1.17 	WHEREAS, Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 states that 
1.18 	products from another country shall not be introduced into the commerce of another country at a 
1.19 	value less than the product's normal price in the destination country; and 
1.20 	WHEREAS, the Department of Commerce has used the provisions of Article VI to 
1.21 	investigate and take antidumping measures against nations in the past, but this process is slow, so 
2.1 	while nations and companies are being identified, investigated, and punished, American workers 
2.2 	are being laid off; and 
2.3 	WHEREAS, action must be taken to more aggressively identify those violating international 
2.4 	trade agreements and punish them accordingly; and
2.5 	WHEREAS, the economic consequences of steel dumping have begun and will have a 
2.6 	lasting detrimental impact on Minnesota's economy, including seven of the 11 mining operations 
2.7 	on the Iron Range being idled last year; and 
2.8 	WHEREAS, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic 
2.9 	Development, more than 2,000 miners have been laid off from iron ore mining facilities and 
2.10 	another 1,500 workers lost jobs at mine vendors and suppliers; and 
2.11 	WHEREAS, laid-off workers are seeking out new jobs that provide substantially lower 
2.12 	income and fewer benefits and mines on the Iron Range continue to stand idle or operate well 
2.13 	below their capacity, and the people who live in our communities will continue to struggle to 
2.14 	provide for their families; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.15 	BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the President 
2.16 	and the Congress of the United States to take action to halt the illegal dumping of foreign steel 
2.17 	into the United States market.
2.18 	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is 
2.19 	directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States, 
2.20 	the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United 
2.21 	States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.