Center for American Progress

RELEASE: The U.S. Can Save the Steel Industry by Decarbonizing It, CAP Report Says
Press Release

RELEASE: The U.S. Can Save the Steel Industry by Decarbonizing It, CAP Report Says

Washington, D.C. — The United States has a once-in-history opportunity to transform its steel industry and establish it as a world leader for the next generation while giving workers the tools they need to build a future for their communities, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress.

The world is moving toward cleaner—and eventually decarbonized—iron and steelmaking. But that won’t happen without more investment, better trade policies, and direct support to produce truly clean steel. Much like the United States did with semiconductors in the CHIPS and Science Act or with electric vehicles in the Inflation Reduction Act and subsequent trade actions, it should make the steel industry its next frontier of industrial policy, the report says.

While clean steel is not currently cheaper or more competitive than traditionally made steel, the day that flips is fast approaching. Due to growing demand from buyers; evolving trade dynamics; and expanded investments, policies, and mandates from governments around the world, the pivot to clean steel has already begun.

The report makes several recommendations for U.S. officials to craft a green industrial policy package for the steel industry:

  • Establish an Office of Critical Industries within the White House.
  • Use the Defense Production Act’s authority to establish voluntary agreements to explore and create public-private collaborations for key emerging sectors.
  • Expand the federal government’s research and development budget.
  • Provide grants to deploy multiple 100 percent clean steel plants and 100 percent clean iron plants built in legacy communities with unions.
  • Cover the “green premium” by creating a tax structure to support the production of clean iron and steel and to spur demand for the products.
  • Create policies to require infrastructure projects funded with federal dollars to eventually prioritize buying domestically produced 100 percent clean steel.
  • Develop a trade enforcement strategy to eliminate carbon-intensive imports of steel or iron.

Read the report: “The Next Frontier in American Industrial Policy: Saving the Steel Industry by Decarbonizing It” by Mike Williams and Jamie Friedman

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].

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