We’ve been talking about the danger of bad trade deals for a long time. But now things are getting very real. Just yesterday, sisters and brothers at US Steel Corp., in Pennsylvania and Texas were told their plants are closing indefinitely.
Despite the natural gas boon in the United States, our members are losing their jobs because gas companies are buying cheap pipe products known as Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) from South Korea instead of right here at home.
When we have bad trade deals all Americans lose. In fact, it’s projected that more than 500,000 jobs in all types of professions are on the line because of this pipe issue alone.
Our country has trade remedy laws that serve as the last line of defense for U.S. companies and workers in situations like this. But when the rules aren’t effectively enforced, American companies lose sales and profits that go toward innovation, plant expansions, and hiring more workers.
How many more American jobs do we have to lose before bureaucrats do the right thing and enforce our trade laws?
Enough is enough – save our jobs!
What is OCTG?
OCTG are the steel pipe products used in the extraction of oil and natural gas. Domestic OCTG producers use state-of-the-art technology and employ thousands of American workers, but are forced to compete with foreign imports from countries like South Korea putting our workers and their jobs on the line.
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