AISI's new CEO focused on industry, steel imports

More than a decade later, working behind the scenes to protect the U.S. steel industry from unfairly imported imports, Kevin Dempsey became interim executive director of the American Steel and Steel Trade Group, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Dempsey has taken on the role of the metals industry, which is grappling with the fallout from the Covid-19 economic downturn, creating a difficult situation to manage at home, while remaining focused on supporting domestic industries in a global oversupply.

Dempsey spoke about his past, which prepared him for his new position:

I have worked at AISI for 11 years since I came in 2009. Until recently, I served as Senior Vice President of Public Policy and General Consulting. So I've been leading our public policy initiatives for more than the last decade, and obviously that's a big part of what's on my plate in my current role.

Before joining AISI, I practiced international trade law for 14 years. I have done a lot of metalwork, but not just steel. The key point was that I worked with domestic producers in trade matters, anti-dumping and countervailing duties. I worked on steel 201 (tariffs) in 2001/2002, so I went through the previous steel crisis and know what it is.

Of course, the US now has a problem of global overcapacity and government interventions around the world. Demand problem due to Covid. Another important issue that we constantly focus on is competing materials, there has always been competition with other materials for our markets in the automotive and construction industries. We think we have a story to tell because steel is extremely innovative. We are developing all of these new steel grades to help our customers in the automotive industry produce vehicles that are lighter, while still being as strong and as safe.

In March, we saw the entire North American auto industry stop. How was it for the metals sector? When it comes to steel, we want to do everything we can to help our customers in the automotive sector. We were in close contact with them. Obviously, this was an extraordinarily difficult task for them, and they had to react in a way that made the most sense for their industry. Our role was to provide support in providing assistance in any way possible.

We have prioritized the implementation of the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) trade agreement because I think it will serve as a boost to our supply chains in the North�