Trade Cases

USW Leaders Comment on NAFTA Issues
Written by Sandy Williams
August 21, 2017
The United States and Canadian leaders of the United Steelworkers released a joint statement on Wednesday advocating NAFTA rules-of-origin, strong labor and environmental rights.
United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard and Canadian National Director Ken Neumann urge strengthening regional rules-of-origin for autos, auto parts and manufactured products, including requirements for melting and pouring steel and aluminum within the NAFTA region. Correction of labor and environmental weaknesses that lead to the exploitation of workers in Mexico is needed, as well as protecting all NAFTA workers from unfair trade practices outside the region, they say.
The USW joint statement follows:
“A significantly strengthened regional ‘rules of origin’ requirement should promote production in the NAFTA region, rather than outsource or otherwise leak production and the benefits of the agreement to China, Vietnam and other exporting countries that exploit workers and don’t play by the same rules. We urge negotiators to pursue proposals that significantly strengthen regional rules of origin requirements.
“The USW also believes that regional rules of origin requirements relating to the production of steel should require steel to be melted and poured in the NAFTA region in order to be considered for tariff preferences. A similar standard should be adopted for other materials such as aluminum in order to ensure the entire process relating to the production of these materials occurs in the NAFTA region.
“Significantly higher regional rules of origin requirements will benefit North American manufacturing workers by discouraging the use of high levels of offshore content, such as auto parts or steel from Asia. But these rules must be implemented in a way that benefits workers in all three NAFTA countries. In Mexico, the United States and Canada, companies exploit weak labor standards to move jobs to jurisdictions where wages are lowest and working conditions are the weakest.
“The best and easiest way to a level playing field for North American workers is not to punish Mexican workers, but to negotiate strong and binding labor and environmental protections with strict timelines that are enforced in all three NAFTA countries.
“The USW has long supported the renegotiation of NAFTA, but negotiators must focus on advancing and protecting the interests of workers in all three NAFTA countries. We will fight to ensure that NAFTA’s rules, including regional rules of origin as well as labor and environmental rights, are strengthened so that workers and their industries across North America are the primary beneficiaries of a renegotiated NAFTA. Our governments must also strengthen NAFTA to protect workers from unfair trade practices outside the region – including currency manipulation – and eliminate disparities within the NAFTA trading bloc that tilt the playing field for corporate interests while exploiting workers and harming the environment in areas with the weakest standards.”

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Trade Cases

Steel groups voice different takes on US-EU trade deal
US and European steel trade groups were at odds over their reaction to the recent trade deal President Trump brokered with the EU.

Here’s what’s up next in the big coated steel trade case
Attorneys representing domestic petitioners and foreign respondent companies have been busy filing case briefings and making rebuttals as the corrosion-resistant steel unfair trade investigations begin to wind down.

Price: Which countries get a ‘zonk’ in Trump’s primetime ‘Let’s Make a (Trade) Deal’ show?
As the president’s August 1 tariff deadline approaches, the “Let’s Make a Deal” game show returns to primetime (the Monty Hall version, of course). As the administration begins rolling out trade deals, we are starting to see what’s behind door number one and who is getting a “zonk.”

Trump says Canada deal might not happen: Report
President Trump said a negotiated deal with Canada might not occur, and all existing tariffs, along with those set to take effect soon, will stay in place, according to media reports.

Steel trade groups applaud Trump’s S232 tariffs
Five trade organizations involved with North American steel have praised President Trump’s Section 232 tariffs on steel for helping the domestic industry.