Trump Promised to Protect Steel. Layoffs Are Coming Instead.
- 6 years ago
Trump Promised to Protect Steel. Layoffs Are Coming Instead.
“You don’t want to splurge for your kids like you want to, because the plant may be closing.”
While he didn’t support Mr. Trump, Mr. Smith said he hoped that the president would follow through on his plans.
But Scott Paul, the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a trade group
that represents steelworkers, said he had “a profound sense of frustration that the president has been using steelworkers as political props
James Rockas, a spokesman for the Commerce Department, said the administration was “aware of the plight of American steelworkers
and will continue working to halt unfair trade practices that harm our economy and kill American jobs.”
In 2008, before the financial crisis struck, the plant ran around the clock.
In a shift in the politics of trade, the union has defended the Trump administration’s trade agenda
against the criticisms of traditionally Republican business groups, like the Chamber of Commerce.
“I think the White House is immobilized, because they have such a cacophony of voices,” said Senator
Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio who describes himself as an ally of the president on trade.
Imports have risen during President Trump’s first year in office, a trend
that the steel industry attributes to the administration’s threat of strict restrictions on imports to come.
“You don’t want to splurge for your kids like you want to, because the plant may be closing.”
While he didn’t support Mr. Trump, Mr. Smith said he hoped that the president would follow through on his plans.
But Scott Paul, the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a trade group
that represents steelworkers, said he had “a profound sense of frustration that the president has been using steelworkers as political props
James Rockas, a spokesman for the Commerce Department, said the administration was “aware of the plight of American steelworkers
and will continue working to halt unfair trade practices that harm our economy and kill American jobs.”
In 2008, before the financial crisis struck, the plant ran around the clock.
In a shift in the politics of trade, the union has defended the Trump administration’s trade agenda
against the criticisms of traditionally Republican business groups, like the Chamber of Commerce.
“I think the White House is immobilized, because they have such a cacophony of voices,” said Senator
Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio who describes himself as an ally of the president on trade.
Imports have risen during President Trump’s first year in office, a trend
that the steel industry attributes to the administration’s threat of strict restrictions on imports to come.