Author: Signal Group

President Biden’s American Jobs Plan has the potential to transform our economy as we Build Back Better post-pandemic.  In fact, our president has proposed the largest American jobs investment since World War II, which will promote our national security interests and create millions of good-paying manufacturing jobs.

My home state of Indiana has more manufacturing jobs per capita than any other state.  So, when rebuilding America’s infrastructure, it is especially important that we ensure U.S. taxpayer-funded projects are constructed with raw materials such as primary aluminum and steel that are made in America.

With the end of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, all Americans must embrace President Biden’s efforts to rebuild our great nation. As he prepares to address a CNN town-hall gathering in Milwaukee, we can expect our president to renew his focus on passing the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package to help millions of American families and strengthen our middle class.

As the nation continues to navigate the economic uncertainty of the pandemic, I believe that the administration’s Build Back Better program has the immediate potential to revive local economies and keep good-paying manufacturing jobs right where they belong – at home in the United States. At the same time, we must also address racial inequity as we restore the soul of America.

Middle-class jobs are tough to come by, especially for minorities in my home state of South Carolina and across the nation. As a former legislator, we had many great manufacturing facilities in my district. Century Aluminum – America’s largest aluminum producer – pumped over $500 million in indirect revenue and 300 good-paying jobs into our state economy, and a vast majority of the employees are Black. While some might overlook this racial dynamic, it is exceedingly common in manufacturing communities throughout the South and Midwest. The plant in Mount Holly also recently announced that it will be increasing total production by 25%, adding 70 more jobs to its economic footprint.

The U.S. aluminum industry has been decimated lately by a surge of foreign aluminum imports from Russia, India, and the Middle East. The Obama administration filed a case at the World Trade Organization to prevent aluminum workers from losing their jobs due to the massive amount of subsidized foreign capacity distorting global aluminum prices. The Trump administration launched the Section 232 tariff program acknowledging the threat to national security posed by America’s declining aluminum industry and attempted to offset the effects of depressed pricing.

In the final hours of his administration, Trump exempted the United Arab Emirates from 10% tariffs on their aluminum imports. The UAE is home to the Jebel Ali high-purity aluminum smelter, which produces an essential component for U.S. military equipment.  But high-purity aluminum is made right here in the USA!

Trump’s action hurts minority workers and families across the South as heavily subsidized state-owned entities in the Middle East that rely on cheap migrant workers game the system.

Thankfully, in recent days our new president stepped in and revoked Trump’s sell-out of minority communities working in America’s aluminum industry. President Biden made clear that he considers it “necessary and appropriate in light of our national security interests to maintain, at this time, the tariff treatment applied to aluminum article imports from the United Arab Emirates.” This action indicates that his administration will fight to create and protect American jobs for minority communities.

It is imperative that the Biden-Harris administration continues to protect American manufacturing jobs. Moreover, we must prioritize the industries at home rather than allow subsidized foreign aluminum imports to flood U.S. markets and shatter local economies.

Whether aluminum, steel or other essential U.S. industries, these good-paying manufacturing jobs are vital pathways to the middle class for Blacks in South Carolina and across the country. Black voters in my state were critical in helping Biden clinch the Democratic nomination and become the next president, so it is only right for Black communities that have suffered considerably to be at the center of the economic recovery efforts.

As we get ready to hear President Biden address the American people at his first town-hall Tuesday evening, I am hopeful that he will work to unite and redeem the soul of our nation. But redemption must start with protecting and preserving good-paying middle-class manufacturing jobs. It starts by protecting Black workers through equitable Building Back Better policies and promoting an inclusive economy where we all can contribute and thrive.

Yesterday, the American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA) sent a letter to President Trump calling on the Administration to restore America’s core manufacturing capabilities and bring back critical supply chains by restoring a 10% tariff on imports of Canadian primary aluminum that are surging into the United States.

Since the 10% aluminum tariff on Canadian imports was removed last year, we have seen Prime Minister Trudeau’s government announce new subsidies for the Canadian aluminum industry, the restart of Canadian production, and skyrocketing imports of Canadian primary aluminum – by over 80% in the last year alone – despite an agreement that the Canadians would do no such thing.

According to just released U.S. Census data, 184,789 metric tons of HTS 7601.10 came in from Canada in May 2020, a record high since Canada was granted its exemption to the Section 232 program. Canada is now at the highest level of import volume since the Section 232 program went into place – more than 30 percent higher than its historical average.

“Industry groups dominated by foreign producers want the Trump Administration to believe that the problem lies only with China. Yet, some of these same entities are currently petitioning the U.S. Commerce Department to impose import duties of up to 151% against 18 other countries on downstream aluminum products these groups produce,” said Mark Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of the APAA. “Now is the time to put America First and for President Trump to enforce our trade agreements, stop this unprecedented Canadian import surge, and stand strong with American workers by reinstating the 10% tariff on Canadian imports.”

While foreign-backed interest groups wrongly hide behind the flag, the APAA is supporting the entire domestic supply chain and fighting for the best interests of America and the domestic primary aluminum industry.

APAA Letter – The Honorable Robert E. Lighthizer U.S. Trade Representative

Yesterday, the American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA) delivered a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary Wilbur Ross providing important data to bring awareness to the surge of Canadian aluminum imports to the United States that is threatening the viability of the domestic primary aluminum industry.

In the letter, the APAA calls on the Trump Administration to save the American primary aluminum industry by repealing Canada’s exemption to the Section 232 tariffs that occurred one-year ago in May 2019. The agreement between the U.S. and Canada that waived the tariffs expressly provides for this surge remedy. Preserving the U.S. primary aluminum industry, including the production of military-grade primary aluminum, was one of the principal drivers of the Section 232 investigation and the resulting tariffs.

“While Canadian producers want the windfall of avoiding Section 232 duties, the Canadian surge is destroying what remains of the U.S. industry,” remarked Mark Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of the APAA. “One U.S. smelter in Washington state is slated to be shuttered and another in Indiana is under strategic review. The New Madrid smelter in Missouri has warned that they are at imminent risk of shut down unless the Canadian surge is addressed. We urge the Administration to reimpose the 10% tariff on aluminum imports from Canada to save American aluminum jobs.”

The letter goes on to explain that if U.S. smelters continue to shutter, the U.S. will only become more dependent on offshore primary aluminum supply. This situation will increase supply chain vulnerability at the very time the U.S. is seeking to preserve a threshold level of production at home.

The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting almost every component of daily life in the United States, with more and more Americans coming to terms with what the “new normal” will look like. Yet, despite the tremendous shock waves with more than 90,000 dead and millions unemployed, our politics is regrettably more polarized than ever. Fortunately, there is an issue on which Joe Biden and Donald Trump can find common ground by standing with American manufacturing workers who are essential to a strong national economy and vibrant middle class.

As a governor and senator representing Indiana for many years, I’m the first to admit that policies hurting Indiana workers are deeply personal to me. The Hoosier State has more manufacturing employment per capita than any other. These issues also run in my family. In 1980, my father, also a U.S. senator, made his final campaign stop at the Alcoa smelter in Warrick County, Indiana. Recently, the smelter fell into dire straits as illegal, subsidized foreign aluminum surged into the United States, forcing the location to be shuttered.

However, under the Section 232 aluminum program, which gives the president authority to impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, the plant was successfully restarted in 2018, bringing back more than 600 great Indiana workers with good jobs that support their families and the local community.

Unfortunately, those 600 jobs are once again threatened. The Canadian government, holding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement hostage, lobbied Congress and the administration to lift the Section 232 aluminum tariffs in exchange for Canada agreeing not to surge aluminum exports.

But Canada has not honored its commitment, and aluminum imports from Canada once again are surging into the United States.

Regrettably, in recent days, this surge caused 700 American aluminum workers to lose their jobs in Washington state. While American aluminum workers are feeling the pain, these jobs are being outsourced to Canada, where a Canadian smelter was restarted after the government there provided subsidies to its industry in response to the Section 232 tariffs. Once again, it was announced that the Warrick County, Indiana smelter is up for “strategic review” and possible closure as well.

While I support a rules-based trading system, this only works if those standards are enforced. The Canadian government agreed that if their producers surged imports into the United States, undermining the relief, the tariffs could be re-imposed. Objectively, the current Canadian surge is in violation of that commitment. The Democratic Party has supported a rules-based trading system for decades now, and we hope that Republicans and the Trump administration will too. We must be willing to enforce those rules, if we are going to ensure that our trading partners live up to the commitments that they agreed to. Canada made a commitment; we must now ensure that they live up to that pledge.

My tenure on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees helped me understand the importance of protecting domestic U.S. supply chains, strengthening the defense industrial base, and putting national security at the heart of U.S. policymaking. Primary aluminum production is essential to U.S. supply chains and plays a very critical part to our national security infrastructure. The current pandemic reminds us that maintaining a healthy domestic supply chain to keep essential industries running is crucial to our national well-being.

To protect American manufacturing workers in Indiana and to put economic and national security first, we must restore a broad-based 10% tariff on all imports of aluminum, including from Canada, and reduce exemptions. This is a very simple and easy policy fix that only requires our trading partners to live up to their commitments.

My message is simple: The elections this fall will be close and probably be decided by middle-class workers who feel fed up with both Washington and foreign nations that break the rules at our expense. Both presidential candidates and both parties have a strong interest in leveling the playing field for manufacturing.

I am confident our next president and our next majority party in the Senate will succeed by standing with manufacturing workers in critical swing states and standing up for American aluminum workers in Indiana and elsewhere across our great nation.

I have no doubt that we can ultimately prevail against the global pandemic and the economic destruction it is causing. To do so, we will need leaders – Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Republicans, Democrats – with the courage and strength to insist on a good deal for American manufacturing.

Evan Bayh served as a U.S. senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and as the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.

It is no secret that the exceptionalism of American manufacturing has been on the decline as past administrations prioritized globalization over the well-being of hardworking American families. President Trump knows it, and he and his team are fighting every day to create and keep more manufacturing jobs in the United States. And during the pandemic, Americans have learned that when we depend on foreign countries like China to make our drugs, protective health gear and even our toilet paper we get “wiped out.”  

It is shocking to see congressional Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi support unfair trade policies that hurt American workers. In recent days, 700 American manufacturing workers lost their jobs in Washington state due to an unprecedented surge of aluminum from Canada. The great outrage is when media goons team up with their soulmates on the left to accuse those who support America First policies of racism and xenophobia. When an American worker loses his or her job to “America Last” policies of the left, those jobs are lost by men, women, black, brown, white. Their ability to put food on their family’s table has been decimated.  

The globalist Democrats led by Rep. Suzan DelBene, Washington Democrat, caved to a massive lobbying effort by the Canadian government and its aluminum producers to proactively push for a tariff exemption for Canadian aluminum imports into the United States. The Canadian government worked with the globalist Democrats to tie the lifting of aluminum tariffs to passage of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). As a result of these actions by the globalist Democrats in Congress, 700 workers in Mrs. DelBene’s district are now out of work and thousands of more jobs are on the line. One wonders what country’s Congress does she work for?

While the Canadian government was busy lobbying congressional Democrats to lift the tariffs, the Canadian government stuffed its aluminum industry with subsidies that support projects at smelters valued over $550 million (Canadian). These subsidies also helped another Quebec smelter, which was idled, to restart its production just as the tariffs were lifted against Canada.

The lifting of the tariffs and the Canadian subsidies effectively outsourced the 700 jobs in Washington state to Quebec. Since the announcement of these subsidies, Canadian aluminum imports have surged over 70 percent, threatening thousands of American aluminum jobs in southern Missouri, New York, Kentucky and South Carolina.

President Trump showed tremendous leadership by imposing 10 percent tariffs on all foreign aluminum imports to protect us from countries that cheat. Sadly, the Canadian government worked with the globalist Democrats in Congress to exempt Canada from Mr. Trump’s Section 232 tariff program. Canada insisted that it would not surge its production beyond historic norms. Instead, Canada stuffed their aluminum industry with massive additional subsidies and surged volume far above historic norms in violation of their commitments. So much for “fair trade.”

Dear Acting Commissioner Morgan:

On behalf of the American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA), I am writing to express our concerns and urge U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to oppose efforts to grant relief to importers in the form of duty payment extensions and other flexibility mechanisms to defer or avoid payments. As of today, we understand that CBP will approve on a case by case basis additional days for payment of estimated duties, taxes and fees due to the coronavirus. When it comes to the Section 232 program, such actions will allow importers to game the system, result in import surges and pose a clear and present danger to U.S. economic and national security interests.

On behalf of America’s primary aluminum producers, we urge CPB not to implement policies that will undermine the Section 232 tariff program and harm American aluminum workers. We ask CBP to continue to fully implement President Trump’s Presidential Proclamation imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on certain articles of aluminum and steel.

The APAA understands and recognizes that the coronavirus public health crisis is resulting in significant economic disruption and Congress is taking steps to protect vulnerable industries and unemployed workers. When it comes to American primary aluminum industry, any relief for importers will hurt domestic primary aluminum production and potentially threaten thousands of American aluminum jobs. Any “tax holiday” or relief will decimate the American aluminum industry which these tariffs are designed to save and support.

The Section 232 aluminum tariff program has been, and will continue to be, a lifeline for the domestic aluminum industry against foreign producers that do not operate on market principles. The minimal tariff imposed on foreign imports provides important relief for domestic production, and as a result of the current fragility of global supply chains, the United States cannot afford to allow important industries to be undermined by a government sanctioned 90-day tariff relief program. USTR has already put in place a process to deal with emergency regulations that have direct bearing on our nation’s ability to respond to the coronavirus crisis

We urge you to resist against implementing policies that undermine the Section 232 program, which is critically important for U.S. national security purposes and has allowed our America’s aluminum industry to start rebuilding.

Any tariff relief will have devastating consequences for the American industries these tariffs were designed to save and support. We strongly urge CBP not to consider the 90-day tariff relief and stand strong with America’s primary aluminum industry and American workers.

Sincerely,

Mark Duffy
Chief Executive Officer
American Primary Aluminum Association

Dear Mr. Vice President:

On behalf of the American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA), I am writing to urge the Trump Administration to declare America’s primary aluminum industry and manufacturing sector as “essential” when drafting and enforcing shelter-in-place orders and other executive action in response to the COVID-19 national emergency.

We applaud President Trump and his team for invoking the Defense Production Act as part of the coronavirus response and taking strong leadership as we work together to keep all Americans safe. APAA is very supportive of the efforts already underway by the Trump Administration, and we understand the importance of mitigating further public health and economic risk from the COVID-19 national emergency.

Recently, businesses across the U.S. have been ordered to suspend operations unless they are deemed a critical industry, with the Trump administration specifically exempting industrial manufacturing as “essential.” America’s primary aluminum industry and our workers are an “essential” industry for U.S. national security purposes – as the Administration has recognized in its Aluminum 232 report – and must be allowed to continue production despite the COVID-19 national emergency. For instance, in Kentucky, where a public health emergency has been declared, Century Aluminum operates America’s only smelter capable of producing military-grade aluminum needed for national security purposes.

Primary aluminum manufacturing U.S. is “essential” to America’s national security infrastructure and the United States’ ability to produce aluminum is critical to maintain in these uncertain times.  In fact, aluminum is a key component in many medical devices that are manufactured in the United States. As Commerce Secretary Ross determined in 2018, aluminum is important to U.S. national security well beyond obvious defense applications and is critical to maintaining U.S. infrastructure such as our national power grids.  Unlike other manufacturing facilities, primary aluminum production cannot be simply turned off without incurring debilitating capital costs – a smelter must operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and once curtailed smelters rarely restart. During its COVID crisis, the Chinese maintained 100% of their primary aluminum production and the United States should do the same. 

With that in mind, it’s imperative that aluminum manufacturing facilities and workers be exempt from potential mandatory quarantines or shelter in place requirements as set by local, state, and the federal government.

We strongly support the Trump Administration collective efforts to combat COVID-19 but urge the designation of America’s primary aluminum industry and their workers as “essential” to the nation’s COVID-19 national emergency. We also respectfully ask that you encourage state and local governments to make the same designation.

Sincerely,

Mark Duffy
Chief Executive Officer
American Primary Aluminum Association

This week, U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer is on Capitol Hill attempting to “woo” Democrats into supporting President Trump’s trade deals with U.S. trading partners.

As the Trump administration continues to push its fair trade agenda, both on Capitol Hill and around the country, Democrats should return to their roots and embrace these common-sense fair trade policies that were once the bedrock of our party and understand that these plans support thousands of American workers, especially in places that are critical to reclaiming the White House in 2020.

During my time in the U.S. Congress fighting for the hardworking men and women of Pennsylvania, I represented New Kensington and dozens of other towns forgotten as steel and aluminum jobs moved overseas due to mass foreign government subsidization. These great American patriots are hardworking, tax-paying Americans and Democrats must remember that we were – and still are – the party of organized labor and American workers.

Laboring under the theory that “free trade” exists, some Democratic quarters have criticized the Section 232 tariffs that level the playing field for tens of thousands of aluminum and steelworkers as aimed at the wrong actors. What they fail to recognize is that “free” trade does not exist, someone pays the bill and far too often it is hard-working Americans that see their jobs offshored to the countries providing the most illegal subsidies. For many years, hardworking Americans in aluminum smelting communities had been harmed by global aluminum overcapacity driven by foreign government subsidies, provided by friend and foe alike.

Global aluminum overcapacity suppressed industry growth and put the domestic industry at an unfair disadvantage with countries who subsidized their production. A recent 2019 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development affirmed what many aluminum workers had seen for years – mass government subsidization of aluminum producers in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Russia, India, and the Middle East countries came at the direct expense of aluminum production in the United States.

These illicit trade practices had devastating effects not just in my home state of Pennsylvania, but across the United States and in states like Indiana, South Carolina, Kentucky, upstate New York, and Washington state. Between 2000 and 2017, subsidized overproduction by foreign producers forced 18 of 23 domestic aluminum smelters to shut down and more than 13,000 good domestic production jobs disappeared.

While it is an unconventional policy, the Trump administration’s Section 232 tariff program has breathed new life into the aluminum industry and given union workers reason to celebrate. And it is for this reason, that I urge all my Democratic colleagues to stand strong with American workers and support the Section 232 tariff program.

Since the Section 232 tariffs were implemented, by the end of this quarter U.S. primary aluminum production will have increased by 67 percent, bringing back thousands of jobs and resurrecting small towns hit hardest by unfair trade. These jobs – jobs which now have a future due to the administration’s trade policy – are strong jobs that bring economic well-being and prosperity to many small towns across the United States.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, Section 232 aluminum tariffs have restored over 200,000 new jobs. During this same period, the rest of the U.S. economy grew by over 1.7 million jobs – chipping away at the argument that skeptics raised suggesting tariffs would have negative impacts on downstream industries.

The facts show that the tariffs are working and overall have not had widespread negative effects on the economy. According to the Economic Policy Institute, there has been a 9.1 percent growth in both aluminum and steel downstream industries, underscoring the notion that the concerns of Doomsday tariff critics are simply wrong.

As Democrats, we once stood for common sense trade policies that supported American workers and put our industries first. Amidst economic changes, like globalization, automation, and the displacement of workers, I’m concerned that my party has lost sight of what made Democrats the party of working men and women in the first place.

If Democrats want to win back my home state of Pennsylvania and retake the White House in 2020, we need to stand with ordinary American workers and support fair trade policies. Maintaining a strong Section 232 tariff program is an essential component to the vitality of America’s manufacturing industry.

Democratic Congressman Ron Klink was first elected to the United States Congress in 1992 and served four consecutive terms representing American steel and aluminum workers in Pennsylvania’s 4th Congressional District.

With more Democrats announcing their campaigns for president in 2020, it is critical for these candidates and the party understand the lessons the 2016 election has to offer. Some, like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, have recognized that one of the keys to the victory of Donald Trump was his ability to appropriate Democratic messaging, notably that our trade system was not working well for many working class Americans.

For decades, American manufacturing has been forced to bear the worst of excess global capacities across numerous industries like aluminum and steel. The system was not working, and our country became a dumping ground for our competitors and allies. President Trump tapped into the frustration felt by these workers in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Democrats must adopt trade policies that stand up to foreign governments that manipulate global markets at the expense of our workers. This was once at the core of our Democratic ideals. Abandoning these principles will only ensure that President Trump has a second term.

My home state of Indiana has the highest percent of manufacturing employment in the United States and has long believed in the tradition of “Made in America.” We built a strong manufacturing base up and down the value chain by supporting the common sense trade policies that put our workers first. The aluminum industry in my state is an example of what happens when we allow foreign governments to manipulate markets.

For nearly a decade, the American aluminum industry was forced to bear the burden of the excess capacity crisis. About 80 percent of domestic aluminum smelters across the country were forced to shut down between 2010 and 2017. Tragically, that led to the elimination of more than 14,000 good domestic jobs. Even the aluminum smelter in my state was forced to idle at the end of 2015 after laying off more than 660 workers. President Obama previously tried to work with our trading partners to address the excess capacity crisis but was often meet with resistance and ultimately was not able to yield the results that the industry needed to remain viable.

My service on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committee helped me to understand that healthy aluminum and steel industries in this country are vital to our national security. We cannot allow our national security to lie entirely in the hands of others. A recent report published by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development confirms that widespread subsidization across all the major aluminum producing countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Norway, China, India, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, is one of the principle drivers of the excess capacity crisis. These foreign governments pumped billions of dollars into their aluminum industries to artificially maintain and expand capacity. The price of aluminum then collapsed and devastated the American aluminum industry and thousands of workers.

The Section 232 tariffs were imposed in 2018 to address the worst effects of the excess capacity crisis. American primary aluminum producers have since been able to restart their idled capacity and will have increased production by 67 percent by the end of this quarter. I joined a panel last month to discuss the groundbreaking white paper from the Economic Policy Institute on the Section 232 aluminum tariffs and their effects. Using facts and not speculative economic modes, the study showed that the tariffs have not harmed downstream industries. Moreover, domestic manufacturing continues to expand, with the sector adding more than 260,000 jobs over last year, according to the latest employment report.

In 1980, my father made his final campaign stop at the Alcoa smelter in Warrick, Indiana. The Section 232 investigation and ultimate imposition of the aluminum tariffs helped the facility restart operations. At the time of the restart announcement, Alcoa representatives thanked the federal and state officials for their support, stating that “Alcoa appreciates the actions the Trump administration has taken” to address the challenges faced by the American aluminum industry including from Chinese excess capacity.

In the 2018 midterms, some of my fellow Democratic senators who were vocally opposed to the Section 232 aluminum and steel tariffs lost their seats. With many Democrats announcing their campaigns for president in 2020, it is important for us to remember the principles that made us the party of the American worker and recognize that President Trump won in 2016 in large part by integrating these principles. The Democratic Party can win in 2020 if it learns lessons from 2016 and embraces trade policy that rebalances the market to support thousands of American workers.

Evan Bayh served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 after serving as the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.