On June 17 U. S. Steel Košice was visited by some members of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, specifically several members of the Special Committee for Economic Affairs led by its chairman Peter Kremský.

During their working lunch with USSK President James Bruno and Vice President External Relations, Administration and Business Development Miroslav Kiraľvarga, they focused on our steelmaking company's current situation. “The situation in the European steel industry was complicated enough even before the corona crisis, mainly due to unfair importing of cheap steel from countries outside the EU which don't have to meet its strict environmental regulations,” explained Jim Bruno, and added: “In spite of European steelmakers appealing jointly for stricter protective measures to be introduced, when the European Commission revised them they didn't take into account the sharp drop in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Vice President Kiraľvarga pointed out another long-term problem, namely the higher prices for energy in Slovakia compared with neighboring countries, commenting: “If energy prices are not lowered, Slovak producers' production costs will rise and their competitiveness will fall.” The Vice President was also interested in new opportunities for support from EU funds connected with the action plan for reviving the European economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.