Contact: Wayne Ranick, 412-562-2444
(Pittsburgh) – The United Steelworkers (USW) released the following statement today after the U.S. International Trade Commission, on a 5-0 vote, found that imports of certain new pneumatic off-the-road tires are causing material injury to U.S. producers and workers. Previously, the U.S. Department of Commerce had determined that the subject tires from India were being dumped into the U.S. market and that both India and Sri Lanka were providing subsidies which resulted in the tires being sold at less than fair value in the United States.
“This ruling is very welcomed by all American tire workers,” said USW International Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson, who chairs the union’s national rubber and tire bargaining conference. “Once again through the aggressive use of our trade laws, we have protected good-paying, family-supporting jobs and preserved market share for American employers from unfair and illegal trade practices.
“Today’s decision will trigger the imposition of duties on these dumped and subsidized tires. More than $200 million of these tires were flooding our market, displacing U.S. production and jobs. This is part of the higher-end of the market, with tires often selling for thousands of dollars. Every unfairly priced tire that is sold here in the United States puts our jobs in jeopardy.
“It should not be necessary for producers and workers to suffer injury and spend significant time and money on these cases. Our government has the authority to bring trade cases, but has been sitting on its hands, largely leaving the enforcement of our trade laws up to the private sector. It is time for government to put an end to unfair trade by making dramatic reforms to both our trade policy and enforcement strategies.”
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries, including metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining, mining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.