Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is opposing President Biden’s selection of deputy U.S. trade representative, in part because the candidate’s lobbying firm is working for a Chinese glass company. It’s a move that took place a decade ago — even as Mr. Brown celebrated the acquisition of the company’s Ohio plant.
White House Announced on January 11th Nelson Cunningham has been nominated to the post, which will oversee trade policy for the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, labor and the environment, pending Senate confirmation.
On January 24, Brown was released. terrible remark He called on Biden to “nominate” someone to replace him who will “stand with the workers of Ohio.”
The 71-year-old knocked Cunningham for supporting him. Pacific Rim Partnership And his firm, McLarty Associates, was recognized for its “focus on lobbying for foreign interests, including lobbying Chinese company Fuyao Glass beginning in 2019.”
“My values have always been clear. I will only support trade candidates who have a proven track record of rejecting the failed policies of the past and standing with workers.”
“Trade policy should not be led by someone who advocates for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is a disastrous deal for Ohio workers,” Brown added. “The TPP was created by corporations behind closed doors, lacks enforceable labor and monetary standards, and will weaken America’s auto supply chain.”
But the Ohio Democratic Party promoted the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese auto safety glass manufacturerFuyao Glass America, for Purchases former General Motors factory In 2014, he called the move “great news for the city of Moraine and the residents of the Miami Valley.”
Mr. Brown boasted that after the 2008 recession, he secured more than $25 million in federal grants to redevelop factory sites with help from a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate firm.
According to the paper, the company’s Industrial Realty Group sold parts of the factory to several companies between 2012 and 2014, and Fuyao purchased the 1.4 million square foot property in May 2014 for $15 million. After that, it became the anchor tenant. Dayton Daily News.
One of the company’s executives, told the outlet Chairman of Fuyao, Cao Dewang — later Members of the National People’s Congress in Beijing — I was attracted to the factory in Ohio because of its “good condition.”
Fuyao ultimately invested $450 million in the factory. Biggest purchase in Ohio history — and Brown spoke at the factory’s grand opening in October 2016.
“We worked together at all levels of government – federal, state and local – to breathe new life into this historic factory and support approximately 2,000 new jobs,” he said. stated in a statement at the time. “This is how we create the manufacturing jobs of the future.”
In a statement against Cunningham, Brown accused Fuyao of “union-busting activity in Dayton” shown in the 2019 Netflix documentary “American Factory,” which also , also reveals the company’s massive pro-China influence campaign against American workers.
one scene It showed a seminar in which the company’s Chinese employees discussed how to “leverage their American characteristics to get them to work at Fuyao,” and pointed out that Chinese employees tend to be “overconfident.”
“We are better than them, so we need to use our wisdom to guide them and help them,” the seminar leader says frankly.
“There is no one more aggressive than Sherrod Brown in standing up against companies that exploit Ohio workers,” a spokesperson for his office told the Post. “Mr. Brown publicly challenged Fuyao to allow employees to unionize during its 2016 grand opening in Dayton.”
“When Fuyao was involved in union-busting, he aggressively and publicly held the company accountable for the downfall of the workers,” the representative added. “Mr. Sherrod knows that Ohio has some of the best workers in the world, and he will condemn companies that illegally challenge the right to organize.”
Cunningham — said he never personally lobbied for Fuyao. Senate disclosure – Had made Donate up to $3,300 Brown’s 2024 re-election campaign last year.
Mr. Cunningham previously served as special adviser to President Bill Clinton and before that as general counsel to then-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Joe Biden.
Brown’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
