USW Testifies Against Chinese Imports at ITC

The United Steelworkers (USW) reports that its president, Leo W. Gerard, asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on June 2 to give the U.S. tyre industry a “fighting chance” against consumer tyres imported from China. According to the USW, Gerard told the ITC that the union has used every tool at its disposal to save the US consumer tyre industry from total collapse, including contract concessions, wage increase deferrals and improved productivity.

“But all of these efforts aren’t worth a dime if the market is being pulled out right from under us,” Gerard said. “With a short period of relief, we can start to build a sustainable foundation for the future of the American tyre industry and its workers.”

USW International Vice President Tom Conway, chairman of the bargaining committee at Goodyear, said the company has warned the union since 2003 that low-cost imports were threatening its North American operations. “Our union has made painful sacrifices to keep our companies afloat in a sea of cheap imports from China,” Conway said. “We have also worked hand-in-hand with our companies to ensure they keep investing in our facilities so we can stay on the cutting edge of technology and innovation.

“But the tide is rising, and it threatens to overwhelm all of the hard work we’ve put into this industry,” he added. “We’re here today to ask the Commission to give us enough breathing room that we can start to build on that hard work and create a stronger and more resilient industry for the future.”

Since 2004, nearly 5,100 tyre workers in the US have lost their jobs as a result of the declining domestic market, a decline that coincides with increases in imports of consumer tyres from China. According to the USW, around 3,000 more jobs may be lost by the end of 2009 as three plants are threatened with closure.

If the ITC finds that US companies are being harmed by the imports, the final determination on imposing trade relief will be made by President Obama, who in the USW’s words made a campaign pledge to “crack down on China’s unfair trading practices.”