A group of Republican and Democratic senators, along with the United Steelworkers (USW), are calling on President Joe Biden to raise tariffs on imported aluminum to protect American jobs.
in letter Senators warned the Biden administration’s Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that aluminum extrusion imports put aluminum extrusion plants in the United States at risk of being shut down.
“Domestic manufacturers and workers supporting the upstream and downstream aluminum supply chain here in the United States cannot compete with subsidized and unfairly dumped goods,” the senators wrote.
Specifically, the senators said foreign countries such as China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam “export in large quantities.” ing. It sells aluminum extrusions at unfair prices, putting American workers at a disadvantage. ”
While imports from these countries increased by more than 40% from 2019 to 2020, the senators noted that U.S. manufacturers’ share of the aluminum extrusions market fell by 11%.
The results were devastating for communities across America, where aluminum extrusion plants lost shifts and jobs or closed entirely.
“We must ensure that American workers do not continue to suffer from unfairly traded imports and that countries like China and Vietnam do not maintain an unfair advantage in producing these critical products.” the senators wrote, calling on the Biden administration to take a hard look at this issue. And raise tariffs:
Despite significant investment, strong demand, and a talented workforce, American workers cannot compete against the odds. Leveling the playing field for domestic producers using the trade enforcement mechanisms at our disposal will help combat unfairly traded aluminum extrusions, boost U.S. production, and create high-wage jobs. support and help strengthen national security. We urge the Department of Commerce to carefully interpret the scope of these investigations to be consistent with petitioners’ intent to evaluate actions against the wide variety of aluminum extrusion products currently at risk. [Emphasis added]
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Amy – Sen. Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bernie Sanders (I.D.) -Vermont), Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) signed the letter.
The domestic aluminum industry has been hit hard in recent years.
In August 2022, the second-largest aluminum factory in the United States temporarily suspended operations and laid off approximately 600 American workers due to rising energy prices.
Similarly, Magnitude 7 Metals (Mag7) in New Madrid County, Missouri, closed in January and laid off about 500 U.S. workers. The aluminum plant is one of the few remaining in the U.S., having been saved from closure by former President Donald Trump’s tariffs in 2018 after closing in 2016 under former President Barack Obama.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) called on Biden to intervene by invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 to save aluminum plants from closing. The administration has yet to take any action on this issue.
In 2023, an aluminum plant in Whatcom County, Washington, will closed along with an aluminum plant in Hancock County, Kentucky. What I saw was Nearly 1,000 American workers were laid off.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
