AWPA Wireline - August 2004

20-22, 2004 for the annual Government Affairs Conference. Deadlines for meeting registration and hotel reservations are approaching at the end of August so make plans to attend today. Register online at the AWPA website to save time and money!
We have an excellent political program scheduled, due to the Presidential elections that will be held shortly after the AWPA meeting. The focus will be trade, as we hear from representatives from both the Bush and Kerry campaigns on this important issue. A presentation will also be made on grassroots advocacy - always an integral part of our annual conference in Washington. Current data will also be provided on the size and scope of the industry.

In addition, there are product committee meetings, two evening receptions and, of course, visits with your Congressional Representatives that allow you to discuss the issues that face the wire industry.

In visiting with your colleagues, suppliers and friends, not only will you broaden your information base beyond your markets and your customers, but you will also gain valuable and diverse industry perspectives to put to use in day-to-day decision-making. You contribute to the well-being of the industry by participating in the dialogue and by making your views known.

Join us in Alexandria this September!

Hotel Reservation Deadline August 23

Early Bird Registration Deadline August 30

The President has designated Stephen Koplan to be Chairman of the ITC for a two-year term expiring June 16, 2006. He earned his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University, his J.D. from Boston University, and his Master's from New York University.

Deanna Tanner Okun has been designated Vice Chairman for a two-year term. She earned her bachelor's degree from Utah State University and her J.D. from Duke University.

On another note, Charlotte Lane stated recently that she hopes that the US Senate will confirm her as a Commissioner at the ITC before the end of the year. If Lane is not confirmed by the time Congress adjourns in October, then she will be out of a job.

President Bush appointed Lane to the Commission in March 2002, but her confirmation was one of many caught up in the logjam as Senate Democrats balked at confirming many Bush appointees. Lane was sworn in last August after Bush reappointed her as a recess appointment - a technical maneuver that allows her to serve without Senate confirmation through the end of the current term of Congress.

Lane was appointed to fill a Republican vacancy on the six-member commission, for a term that expires in 2009. Before her appointment to the ITC, she served on the state Public Service Commission and was in the House of Delegates for six years.

The US Commerce Department has postponed its preliminary determinations in the administrative reviews of the antidumping orders against carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago. The preliminary determinations are now due by October 30, 2004. The date on which the preliminary determinations had originally been due was July 2.

These administrative reviews cover the period from April 10, 2003 through September 30, 2003. The companies subject to these reviews are:

Hylsa Puebla S.A. de C.V.

Hylsamex, S.A. de C.V.

Siderurgica Lazaro Cardenas Las Truches S.A. de C.V.

Caribbean Ispat Limited

The Department based the postponement on the fact that it is conducting cost-of-production investigations of all five respondent companies.

Upcoming Election Shapes Fall Government Affairs Conference