In November, the study Raw Deal: How Governmental Trade Barriers and Subsidies Are Distorting Global Trade in Raw Materials was released, concluding that governments around the world are enacting a variety of trade restrictive measures to gain an unfair advantage in the race for raw materials. The report documents how China, Russia, Ukraine, India and other governments are increasingly participating in the race for raw materials and are intervening in commodity markets in order to protect their domestic industries and sustain economic growth.

The study, written by Wiley Rein LLP and sponsored by the American Scrap Coalition (ASC), details the rise of trade-restrictive measures designed to secure supplies of low-cost raw materials and benefit domestic industrial giants. "These barriers are being used by certain U.S. trading partners to game the system to their advantage while prejudicing those countries that are playing by the rules," said Alan Price, Wiley Rein LLP, Washington D.C., legal representation for the ASC and one of the study's authors.

The ASC is calling for immediate action to address these trade-distorting practices on scrap and all raw materials, and will continue to work with the U.S. Trade Representative's Office, the Commerce Department, U.S. Congress and the new Administration to reach a long-term solution to these problems.

For more information on this study or AFS' involvement with the ASC, contact Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office, at 202/842-4864 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .