[ArGee]

Foreign plants were able to produce steel products at a greatly lower cost because of the development of more efficent equipment and process.

If you mean the Japanese, I think they were able to modernize because the U.S. rebuilt the country after WWII.

Shalom.

[em2vn]

What you say is accurate. Germany would fit in there also. Even Brazil began to ship quality steel. It did it without the rebuilding dollars that Japan and Germany received. I think the management process that Doctor W.Edward Deamings taught the Japanese was instrumental in their success.
Our steel companies didn't take advantage of the modern equipment and process that was available, thought not funded by U.S. dollars.