Heat Treat Industry News
April 30, 2008
Group is Critical of China's Policies
Apr. 29--The Alliance for American Manufacturing contends China cheats on its trade policies, and U.S. presidential candidates need to let voters know how they would make that nation play fair.
Almost half of Indiana's job losses, from 2000 to 2006, resulted from the state's trade deficit with China and its trading policies, according to estimates from the lobbying group for U.S. manufacturers, the United Steelworkers and steel companies.
From 2001 to 2006, an estimated 45,200 of the 109,800 state's manufacturing job losses are directly linked to China's trade policies and the lack of enforcement of U.S. trade laws, according to the Alliance.
The issue has grown in importance during the current campaigns for the party nominations and is reaching its "pinnacle" in Indiana, said Scott Paul, alliance executive director.
"No state produced more steel or is more dependent on manufacturing than Indiana," he said. "No state would to benefit more from fair trade with China. No state has lost more as a result of flawed trade policy and dumping. ... You read and hear about plants closing every day in the state. The state is so manufacturing-dependent [that] it's an issue that needs to be addressed."
The candidates are paying more attention to the issue of China's trade policies -- including the alliance's allegation of currency manipulation -- but still need to define a clear U.S. trade policy and how it would be enforced under their administration, Scott said.
"It's important for all the candidates to tell us exactly what they'd do about China's cheating," he said.
Although the U.S. steel industry is profitable, the steelworkers union and major steel companies want the issue addressed because of what's happened in the past.
The domestic steel industry suffered huge monetary and job losses from 1999 to 2002 that were driven by unfair trade practices with steel dumped into the U.S. at prices so low that steelworkers "could work for free and the companies wouldn't make money," said Jim Robinson, USW District 7 director.
Indiana and the nation need strong enforcement of trade policies and trade laws, so companies can't import products from unfairly subsidized offshore industries, sell them at high prices, and make huge profit margins, while destroying U.S. companies that play fair, he said.
"Indiana is major manufacturing state, and manufacturing is the heart and soul of the state in terms of driving the economy and providing jobs that allow people to maintain a decent standard of living," Robinson said.
The U.S. has a failed trade policy that goes beyond China, said Terrence Straub, vice president for government affairs for U.S. Steel Corp.
The company, whose stock is at an all-time high, is involved in the issue despite its current success because the industry is seen as cyclical. "The industry and company are doing well, but I've been with this company for 28 years," Straub said. "I've learned what goes up, goes down."
Posted on: Tuesday, 29 April 2008, 15:00 CDT
By Andrea Holecek, The Times, Munster, Ind.
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