China’s Unfair Trade Puts U.S. Auto Parts Jobs at Risk
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More than 1.6 million American jobs in the nation’s auto supply chain are at risk unless China’s illegal trade practices are curtailed, according to three new reports released today. In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard said:
China is cheating unmercifully in this sector and we are saying to China—and asking our government to stand up to China and say—“enough is enough.” It is time to enforce our trade policies.
Two reports from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and one from Stewart and Stewart, a law firm that has won cases challenging China’s unfair trade practices, detail China’s persistent and growing violations of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and outline plans by China’s government to use these same tactics to boost their auto parts exports even further.
In the past 10 years alone, China’s auto parts exports to the United States have increased by 850 percent, while jobs in the parts industry declined by more than 400,000. Says Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM): Read the rest of this entry »
Obama Administration Takes Action on USW’s Complaint on China’s Green Energy Subsidies
Today the Obama administration outlined the actions it will take to address the United Steelworkers’ (USW) Section 301 trade case over China’s predatory and protectionist practices and policies in the clean energy technology sector.
The USW’s petition says China’s government has used hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies, performance requirements, preferential practices and other illegal trade activities to dominate the renewable energy market. USW President Leo Gerard says the White House action comes as an early note of holiday cheer for
those workers in the alternative and renewable energy sector who work hard, play by the rules and simply want a chance to compete. The administration has shown its commitment to enforcing the rules of trade by making it clear to the Chinese government that they will pursue U.S. interests. Read the rest of this entry »
U.S. Jobs Benefit from USITC’s China Pipe Ruling
U.S. workers who manufacture steel pipes won an important battle against unfair and government subsidized China-made pipe imports when the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) unanimously ruled in favor of a petition by the United Steelworkers (USW) and eight U.S. steel pipe makers.
USW President Leo Gerard says the Dec. 31 ruling, which will impose playing-field leveling duties on the subsidized China pipe imports,
makes it clear to American pipe workers and industry that the U.S. government will stand up against China’s violation of fair trade rules when domestic job losses and industry injury are clearly demonstrated.
U.S. Trade Commission Rules for USW in China Tire Import Case
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The International Trade Commission (ITC) today ruled in favor of a trade petition filed in April by the United Steelworkers (USW) to slow a torrent of tire exports to the United States during the past several years. Those exports have cost thousands of U.S. jobs.
According to the USW petition, nearly 5,100 U.S. tire workers have lost their jobs as a result of massive erosion in the domestic market since 2004. The loss of jobs coincides with a huge surge in imports of consumer tires from China. Some 3,000 more jobs are slated to be lost by year’s end as three U.S. plants are threatened with closure.
