Saturday, January 23, 2010

Letter to the Editor

January 19, 2010

President Obama Must Take Two-Pronged Approach To Create Steel Jobs In Ohio And Lorain
January 19, 2010
The Morning Journal (Letter to the Editor)

To the Editor:

With President Obama visiting Lorain County to talk about jobs creation, it's urgent that he move swiftly to put into action his plan to revitalize American manufacturing.

Ohio is the heartland of U.S. manufacturing, including being the second highest state in steel production generating $5.15 billion in value-added output. This translates into more than 71,000 direct and indirect steel jobs which feed into the 613,000 high-value manufacturing jobs in the state.

We urge the president to take a two-pronged approach: 1) support investment in America's infrastructure, including replacement and repair of bridges, renewable energy projects, oil and gas pipelines and the smart energy grid; 2) get tougher on China's protectionist policies.

I say tougher, because we are thankful that the Administration has already taken a strong stance on enforcing America's trade laws, as seen in recent rulings against China for subsidizing and dumping Chinese steel pipe into the U.S. market at great harm to U.S. steelmakers and steelworkers. U.S. Steel's Lorain mill makes some of these pipe products.

The president, with support from Congress, must insist China put an end to its blatantly protectionist policies, which include large tax rebates to its domestic manufacturers, massive loans through its state-run banks and restrictive access to its raw materials. Those practices, along with manipulation of the Yuan by as much as 40 percent, effectively shut out imports while simultaneously bolstering China's exports.

A recent Economic Policy Institute study found that the U.S. has lost more than 2.3 million jobs since 2001 as a result of the U.S. trade deficit with China.

America's steel industry looks forward to working with the President and Congress to advance a national pro-manufacturing agenda by creating valuable manufacturing jobs, and making China play by the rules so we keep those jobs here in America.

- Thomas J. Gibson, president and CEO, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)

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