ABSTRACT
The Paul Marshall Report accuses the Japanese of erratic export behavior, selling at any price to maintain a high level of production, and using artifically high domestic sales prices to support export. The Marshall Report urges US policymakers to pay special attention to the steel import problem because of the unique characteristics of the steel industry. Steel experts have played a critical role in executing each element of this strategy. The US steel industry increased its exports by 44% in 1974 because the export market was more profitable than the domestic market. In July 1977 Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith issued an institutional report, published by their Securities Research Division, which was termed "erroneous and damaging" by the chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute. With the US administration scrambling to develop a rescue program, the Japanese and European steel producers rushed to propose alternatives.
