Report shows transformer imports ‘a threat to US national security’
The Core Coalition, an independent group of US suppliers and manufacturers in the transformer industry, has released a statement regarding the US Department of Commerce’s report on transformer imports.
The US Department of Commerce recently published its report on its Section 232 investigation on “The Effect of Imports of Transformer Components on the National Security of the United States.” The report was completed on October 15, 2020, but was never made public until the Biden administration recently published it along with three other Section 232 reports.
Three of the reports, including the report on transformer components, found that imports did pose a threat to national security.
The heavily redacted report on transformer components concentrated on parts made primarily of specialty Grain Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES) and did little to address or advance the global competitiveness of the US transformer industry. The report’s conclusion is that “(transformer components, especially cores and laminations) are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair U.S. national security.”
The report also notes that there is only one domestic supplier of GOES (AK Steel, a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs), and confirms that the company does not have the capacity to provide the full range of grades required by US transformer producers.
A Commerce Department survey of manufacturers in the distribution transformer sector of the industry found that 76% responded that imports of low-cost components and assembled transformers were the biggest single threat to their business. The report quoted information from The Core Coalition that these imports were caused by the high prices of GOES in the US and the Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel, undermining the competitive position of US-based distribution transformer manufacturers.
The Commerce Department also found that 82% of Large Power Transformers (LPTs) purchased for domestic use were imported, whereas the six US-based manufacturers of LPTs were operating at 42% capacity. LPTs are a critical part of the US electric grid and provide the transformers necessary for transmission of electric power throughout the country from generation to the individual points of lower-voltage distribution.
Source: The Core Coalition
Photo (for illustrative purposes): Hafen / postcardtrip / Pixabay / Free for commercial use
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