USW, Allies Slam Pause in Shipbuilding Relief Measures, Call on USTR to Prioritize National Security

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, jkamm@usw.org, 412-562-2444

(Pittsburgh) – The United Steelworkers union (USW) along with labor allies this week called on the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to stand firm on Section 301 trade relief measures implemented to counteract China’s long history of predatory policies in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

The administration announced that it would pause remedies USTR instituted earlier this year after its investigation found that Chinese illegal trade practices contributed to the decimation of U.S. shipbuilding capacity.

In written comments submitted Nov. 7, the USW, alongside the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), noted the bipartisan support for containing Chinese dominance and rebuilding the domestic shipbuilding industry.

“Yet, after months of strong rhetoric about the need for a comprehensive approach to rebuilding American maritime strength, workers, shipyards, and our broader economic and national security interests are once again being sidelined in favor of short-term considerations,” the unions wrote. “Following this retreat, workers who know all too well the boom-and-bust nature of American shipbuilding are again being pushed aside, even as new commercial orders—worth billions of dollars—flow back into Chinese shipyards.”

The USW, the IAM, the IBB and the IBEW, were among the unions that filed a Section 301 trade petition in March 2024, noting the tens of thousands of lost jobs across the shipbuilding supply chain. 

“The United States cannot afford to retreat again,” they wrote in their comments. “Now is the time to act.”

Click here to read the full text of the letter.

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.

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