The North American steel industry is striving to achieve some of the goals set out in President Obama's National Export Initiative (NEI), a federal program designed to double U.S. exports over the next five years to support 2 million American jobs.

U.S. steel exports have been a largely spotty venture for years, depending on fluctuating international pricing dynamics and swings in the strength and weakness of the U.S. dollar. More recently, though, with the dollar weaker and emerging global economies exhibiting a need for steel, U.S. steelmakers have been presented with increased export opportunities.

Those opportunities must develop over time, however, as demand for steel from emerging nations improves and the global economy strengthens.

U.S. mills exported about 8.4 million tonnes of steel in the first 11 months of 2009, down 34.5 percent from almost 12.8 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier, according...