[naviga:h3]County sends letter to support AK Steel[/naviga:h3]

The Butler County Board of Commissioners is urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to address unfair trade practices adversely affecting AK Steel in Butler by amending Section 232.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Jr., the Butler County Commissioners said AK Steel is the only American manufacturer of a specific type of energy-efficient electrical steel.

To address the issue, Ross would have to submit a proclamation for President Donald Trump to sign.

The letter stressed without an annex to Section 232 including electrical steel laminations and cores, the last North American producer of the steel used in transformers critical to our nation’s power grid would be lost.

AK Steel, a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs, employs 1,500 people at facilities in Butler and Zanesville, Ohio. The Butler plant generates nearly $110 million in payroll annually, so its closure would have a devastating economic impact.

The commissioners’ objective is to stop the increase in imports of downstream products from China and other countries into the United States through Mexico and Canada to avoid the tariffs.

[naviga:h3]Drug, alcohol board sets online meeting[/naviga:h3]

The Butler County Drug & Alcohol Advisory Board meeting scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Tuesday will be held online.

Those interested in participating in the meeting may send an email to djeneres@co.butler.pa.us in order to obtain the Zoom meeting link and other information.