USW: Duties on Illegally Traded Chinese Pipe Will Protect American Workers
02/13/2014 - United Steelworkers (USW) international president Leo W. Gerard issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced that it would maintain antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese steel pipe imports.
"With thousands of family supporting jobs at stake, we applaud the DOC ruling to protect American workers. When our international trade partners break the law, we rightly depend on our government to enforce it to protect our communities and prevent the continued erosion of our industrial base.
"The USW is especially grateful to Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman of Ohio for their leadership in calling on DOC to prevent Chinese pipe producers from exploiting a loophole that would have enabled them to avoid existing antidumping and countervailing duties by changing a product's 'country of origin' after minor alterations elsewhere.
"Domestic manufacturers have been dealing with the consequences of unfair foreign trade for decades, and we remain committed to fight to level the playing field for American workers to compete globally."
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.
"The USW is especially grateful to Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman of Ohio for their leadership in calling on DOC to prevent Chinese pipe producers from exploiting a loophole that would have enabled them to avoid existing antidumping and countervailing duties by changing a product's 'country of origin' after minor alterations elsewhere.
"Domestic manufacturers have been dealing with the consequences of unfair foreign trade for decades, and we remain committed to fight to level the playing field for American workers to compete globally."
The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.
