American Steel is Essential to our National Security
Section 232 makes clear that “national security” refers to much more than our military and defense – it also refers to our critical infrastructure, economic security and the viability of our manufacturing base. American-made steel is used to support all of these aspects of our national security. In fact, the 16 critical infrastructure sectors that the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defined as being essential to our nation’s security all utilize American-made steel. For example, our domestic steel industry is used to support America’s:
• Chemical sector
• Commercial Facilities Sector
• Communications Sector
• Critical Manufacturing Sector
• Dams Sector
• Defense Industrial Base Sector
• Emergency Services Sector
• Energy Sector
• Financial Services Sector
• Food and Agriculture Sector
• Government Facilities Sector
• Health Care and Public Health Sector
• Information Technology Sector
• Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste Sector
• Transportation Systems Sector
• Water and Wastewater Systems Sector
American-made steel also plays a direct role in the strength of the U.S. military, being used to manufacture our missiles, aircraft, submarines and to support our nation’s electrical grid, pipelines and infrastructure that supports America’s economic engine. Without a viable U.S. steel industry, America will be forced to rely on other nations – potentially hostile nations – to supply the raw materials that supports and constructs our national defense and critical infrastructure. That’s why Section 232 steel measures were implemented in March 2018 on national security grounds and have been maintained by the Biden-Harris Administration.