The passage by the House of Representatives of the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill has done little more than fire up opposition from the North American steel industry, with many executives seeing the legislation as nothing more than a tax that will cost the industry millions of dollars in the long term.

What hurts most, industry leaders say, is that the cost the bill would exact if it is enacted into law would be prohibitive compared with possible benefits. The industry believes the loss of manufacturing jobs and the implicit trade threats contained in the bill would do considerable damage to U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular.

"We believe this bill has moved at a rushed pace that has not allowed for full debate of provisions that are critical to the steel industry, which was clearly underscored by the fact that the bill passed in the House by only seven votes," said Thomas J. Gibson, president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute. "The bill, as passed, will need important modifications as it moves through the Senate.

"We can say—with certainty—that if this bill is enacted as it presently stands, U.S. steelmakers and workers will be at a significant competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace," he added.

Thomas A. Danjczek, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association, pointed out that one in five Democrats voted against the bill, which passed by just 219 votes to 212. "The bill is ridiculous. The fact that it took as much pork as it did to get it passed shows just how ridiculous it is."

A provision in the bill that would impose trade penalties, including import taxes, on countries that do not accept...