ABSTRACT
The United States was at one time a steel exporter and in fact the primary steel producer in the world. In the western portion of the United States, there is only one integrated steel mill operating, and it is a troubled mill in the interior state of Utah. The level of demand for steel in the national/international economies is a function of the development strategies, both in developed countries and in developing countries. Interestingly, Third World steel-making has not developed like other industries through multinational corporations relocating their steel facilities to gain cheap labor. The steel industry was preoccupied throughout its history with managing the market to preserve its oligopolistic profits. The Japanese steel industry is more productive partly because their steel-making capacity was destroyed in the Second World War. Most countries subsidize the steel industry in order to maintain employment and production. The American steel industry has always believed strongly in a free and open international trading system.
