Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, (412) 562-2444, jkamm@usw.org
United Steelworkers (USW) International President Tom Conway issued the following statement today in response to the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) study on the benefits Section 232 measures provided the U.S. aluminum industry and its workers and the continuing need to keep them in place:
“The USW welcomes the EPI’s thorough, new report detailing the impacts of Section 232 trade measures on the domestic aluminum industry.
“Global overcapacity, in conjunction with other illegal trade practices, put severe strain on our ability to produce aluminum, a product vital to our national defense and other critical infrastructure.
“As USW members experienced first-hand, this cost our country thousands of good, community-sustaining jobs.
“The Section 232 measures are allowing the domestic aluminum industry to regrow and add jobs. This includes new investment not only in aluminum production, but downstream as well. We cannot jeopardize our fragile economic recovery by lifting them prematurely.
“As we continue to work toward a permanent multilateral solution for global overcapacity, we must maintain and strengthen these measures so that we can rebuild our communities and safeguard our national security. Unless and until we have a comprehensive set of solutions, the 232 national security measures should remain in place.”
The full report can be found here.
The USW represents 850,000 workers 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 health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.