Posted by aburke on 01/12/2012

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Yesterday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) called on the Department of Defense to restore the requirement that all U.S. military steel be 100% made in the U.S.  Sen. Schumer says that this would help create jobs in New York State and across the country.

For 35 years, the U.S. military sourced all of its steel from domestic producers, but during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. dropped the requirement to meet growing demand for steel. This action forced American steel manufacturers to compete with companies in countries such as China that don’t play by global trading rules.

Now that the Iraq war has ended and there are numerous American manfuacters that stand ready and willing to meet the military’s demands, Sen. Schumer believes that it’s time to reinstate the 100% American-made military steel requirement:

 “Our military steel should be proudly stamped ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ and more of it should come from Rochester,” said Schumer in a statement. “Great manufacturers like Klein are standing here, ready to answer the call of duty – let’s give them the chance to step up and produce high quality steel that our military needs, providing a shot in the arm for our Upstate economy at the same time.

American workers can meet the military’s need, so we should call on them instead of workers halfway around the world in China or other countries that don’t play by the rules and undercut U.S. jobs at every turn.”

In a letter to the Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Sen. Schumer urged the Department of Defense to once again require that military steel be made from start to finish in the United States.

Click here to read. Sen. Schumer’s letter to Secretary Panetta.