Resolution No. 11: Fighting Together for Fair Trade

WHEREAS, the USW is the largest industrial union in North America, representing workers producing a wide variety of trade-impacted goods, such as steel, pipe, aluminum, wood products, critical resources, chemicals, paper products, plastics, auto parts, tires, rubber, glass, and many other industrial and consumer products; and

WHEREAS, because our members in Canada and the United States have suffered disproportionately from unfair trade practices on the part of other nations, unfairly traded imports and the offshoring of production and manufacturing jobs, the USW has been at the forefront of the fight for fair trade in both Canada and the United States; and

WHEREAS, our two countries have been steadfast trading partners working together against global bad actors, and through public pressure and concrete action, the USW has been a leader in the fight to level the playing field to ensure the rules are enforced so that our members and their industries have a fighting chance; and

WHEREAS, every worker, no matter their job, experiences the impact of decisions made by elected leaders on trade policies; and

WHEREAS, our union has long been the canary in the coal mine on trade issues, historically dealing with challenges regarding foreign government subsidies and foreign company dumping of products into the U.S. and Canadian markets; and

WHEREAS, our union in the U.S. has been party to more than one in five trade cases and participated in more trade investigations than any other single organization, aiding in anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders being imposed on illegally dumped or subsidized goods; and

WHEREAS, our union in Canada has participated in more than 50 trade investigations on anti-dumping, countervailing duty orders and safeguards.  We have supported or testified more than any other union in Canada, recently initiating our first-ever trade case and winning other worker-friendly trade law reforms including the mandate to take worker impact into consideration when determining injury to domestic industry; and

WHEREAS, Canada recently imposed country of melt and pour regulations, bolstered anti-circumvention measures, is studying the implementation of country of smelt and cast, and imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum products from China and 100 percent tariffs on electric vehicles from China to match U.S. actions; and

WHEREAS, with globalization, services traditionally not seen as trade impacted, such as call centers and health care, now experience outsourcing and international competition; and

WHEREAS, tech companies want to lock in the old model of free trade as an ideal to prevent accountability on where data is stored, where future technology jobs are created, in order to prevent regulation that improves worker and consumer rights on digital platforms; and

WHEREAS, the People’s Republic of China through massive industrial subsidies, illegal foreign export promotion, and abuses of workers in their country – including the use of forced labor and human rights abuses in other countries, has injured workers, advanced anti-democratic principles and dramatically damaged the environment; and

WHEREAS, the efforts by multi-national corporations and state-run economies like the People’s Republic of China continue to emphasize a trade-at-any-cost model, which undermines the ability of workers to bargain with their employers and for countries to improve the environment for their communities; and

WHEREAS, the USW recognizes that the dumping of goods and illegal subsidies not only impacts domestic jobs; unfair trade also enables multinational companies to pollute in foreign countries, destroying communities in faraway places, causing occupational disease, and permitting companies to inadequately compensate workers; and

WHEREAS, unfair trade allows foreign and multinational companies to avoid prohibitions on child labor and forced labor and undermines basic democratic labor rights such as the freedom of association, the right to strike, freedom of speech, a safe and healthy working environment, and the right to collective bargaining; and

WHEREAS, the USW will work to ensure trade agreements and trade enforcement will maintain and grow jobs for workers and prevent abuse of workers and the environment across the globe by using every tool available to them such as anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws, and Sections 232 and 301 trade enforcement rules in the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, our union was successful in removing the Section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in 2019 and will continue to advocate for a permanent exemption for Canadian steel and aluminum products as Canada – a strategic trading partner for the U.S. – does not present a legitimate national security threat, yet faces renewed tariffs on general products entering the U.S. in 2025; and

WHEREAS, because adverse trade impacts will affect workers as multinational companies, governments and other factors cause facilities to close, trade impacted workers deserve robust job training benefits and support services such as Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA); and

WHEREAS, in good part because of our union’s work, a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism was created in the first modern renegotiated trade agreement – the United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA) – which has permitted workers in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada to hold companies accountable in Mexico for labor violations, allowing for thousands of workers in Mexico to choose independent unions for the first time; and

WHEREAS, the USW in both Canada and the United States has advocated for the inclusion of mechanisms similar to USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism in ongoing and upcoming trade negotiations; and

WHEREAS, through our allies and partner groups like the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), and the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), the USW has amplified its voice on trade issues and ensures workers come first in efforts to address issues such as tariffs, fair trade, and trade enforcement; and

WHEREAS, since the U.S. and Canada represent over a quarter of all economic activity across the globe, elected leaders in those countries can influence not just U.S. and Canadian jobs and livelihoods but also the countries that trade with our respective countries.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that:

1. The USW will advocate in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa for trade policies that defend trade exposed workers, eliminate labor and environmental abuses in trade and use every policy tool available to ensure U.S. and Canadian exports are competitive.
2. The USW will defend members on both sides of the border and oppose the unjustified imposition of general tariffs on Canadian and U.S. products entering our respective countries, while advocating for a permanent exemption from Section 232 tariffs against steel, aluminum, and other products from Canada.
3. Our union in both countries will promote a bilateral manufacturing and trade strategy, including reciprocity of critical resources and products for domestic procurement programs between our two countries and the targeted and strategic use of tariffs against bad actors in the global marketplace, as well as broad exemption for Canadian products under new Buy America rules.
4. The union will pursue and encourage governments to adopt and improve policies such as Rapid Response Labor Mechanisms and Labor Value Content provisions in trade agreements, which ensure workers can fight back against foreign labor abuses and promote minimum wage requirements between countries to prevent outsourcing for low wages.
5. The USW will educate our members and our communities on the impacts of digital trade and will work to prevent digital trade agreements from undermining workers’, environmental and consumers’ rights.
6. The USW will support policies that advance export promotion of goods such as the Export-Import Bank and will fight for reforms to increase domestic content in the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.
7. The USW will oppose unilateral tariff cut programs without improvements to increase domestic content standards, improve labor and environmental conditions; and block out content controlled by the People’s Republic of China.
8. The USW demands the renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to aid workers where trade was a factor in their job loss. Workers deserve robust job training aid when factors like foreign dumping, flawed trade agreements, inadequate enforcement or unbalanced trade laws impact their job.
9. The USW will support workers at home and across the globe to ensure the decisions made by governments at places like the World Trade Organization (WTO) take factors such as labor rights and environmental conditions into consideration.