Among other actions, the report recommends starting negotiations with trading partners as soon as it becomes clear that an import surge is in the works.

At the height of the import surge in 1998, 41 million tons of steel was being imported annually.

According to President Gaviria, this import surge created 45,000 new jobs in the United States.

"This was a classic case of an import surge," said Mr. White, who represents a number of textile companies.

The import surge caused several carmakers in Russia to close assembly lines intermittently, waiting for inventories to fall.

However, if excluded initially, a subsequent import surge could lead to inclusion.

The trade commission must decide whether steel producers have suffered injury because of a sudden import surge.

Exports continued the rise that has been in evidence since the third quarter of last year, but they were outpaced by a $2 billion May-to-June import surge.

The most generally accepted explanation for the import surge was a time lag between orders and deliveries.

The import surge was attributed to higher oil prices and an increase in auto imports, mostly from Europe.