ABSTRACT
The United States has been a net importer of steel since about 1960. At first this caused no serious economic hardships for the domestic industry. As the import penetration level increased — from 4.7 percent of apparent domestic consumption in 1960 to over 16 percent by 1977 — strains in the relationship between the United States and the rest of the world steelmaking community developed. 1 The accompanying chart shows the increase in imports as a percentage of domestic consumption during the twenty years from 1958 to 1978. Significant increases have taken place after 1964, leading to the voluntary restraint agreement in 1968, and after 1976, leading to the establishment of the Trigger Price Mechanism and the International Steel Committee in 1977–78.
