Hollowed Out Heartland: 900 American Workers at West Virginia Plant Laid Off After Feds Refuse Tariffs on ChinaJohn Binder 25 Feb 2024
After a federal agency refused to allow the Department of Commerce to impose tariffs on cheap imported tin from Canada, China, Germany, and South Korea, about 900 American workers are set to lose their jobs at a plant in Weirton, West Virginia.
On February 15, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. executives announced they will be idling the company’s tin production plant in Weirton in April, leaving about 900 Americans out of work in the small city of fewer than 20,000 residents.
The massive layoff comes after the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) — made up of four commissioners: Republican David Johanson, Democrat Rhonda Schmidtlein, Democrat Jason Kearns, and Democrat Amy Karpel — refused to allow the Commerce Department to impose tariffs on unfairly subsidized and cheap imported tin products from Canada, China, Germany, and South Korea.
“We worked very closely with our partners at the United Steelworkers (USW) on this solution to save Weirton, and together fought tirelessly for its survival,” Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement:
In what was our final effort to maintain tinplate production here in America, we proved that we are forced to operate on an uneven playing field, and that the deck was stacked in favor of the importers. Despite the Department of Commerce finding evidence of dumping and subsidization from respondent countries, the ITC shockingly ruled against imposition of tariffs, keeping the uneven playing field in place and making it impossible for us to viably produce tinplate. We have been upfront and open with union leadership throughout this process and our partnership with the USW remains unbreakable.
To the tin can makers and consumer groups who irrationally fought against American jobs and a domestic-based food supply chain, this outcome is due to your own greed. We disproved all the arguments leveled against the domestic industry and workers. Furthermore, Weirton recently concluded a successful run of Drawn & Ironed material that tested perfectly with zero defects. This test proves that Weirton and its workers are able to manufacture all the products the market demands. The ITC’s decision is a travesty for America, middle-class jobs, and our critical food supply chains. This bad outcome requires better and stronger trade laws. We will continue to work tirelessly with our Congressional champions who fought with us in this case to improve the trade laws so that the American industry and our workers are not left behind.
more
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/02/25/hollowed-heartland-900-american-workers-west-virginia-plant-laid-off-after-feds-refuse-tariffs-china/