Sunday, September 28, 2003
The group is urging the president to keep tariffs on foreign steel.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of industry heavyweight International Steel Group Inc. is leading an alliance of steel and other manufacturers that he says will fight to protect American jobs.
Wilbur Ross, chairman of Cleveland-based ISG, said the Free Trade for America Coalition has brought together a wide range of industries and unions. The coalition plans to use television ads and lobbying to promote its position on international trade policy.
ISG bought the assets of bankrupt LTV Corp. and reopened one of its steel mills in Cleveland with a boost from tariffs that President Bush imposed on foreign steel.
But Ross and his partners blame other Republican administration policies and previous trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement for soaring trade deficits and the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Group's demands
The group wants the current trade laws to be enforced, Ross said Thursday in Washington.
"We have been importing unemployment and exporting jobs," he said.
Ross said he also wants FreeTAC to persuade Bush to maintain tariffs on foreign steel for another 18 months and to stop any legislation that offers advantages to imports.
Richard Mills, spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative, defended the administration's trade agenda, saying it gives Americans opportunities in overseas markets "while making sure there is a level playing field, as our safeguards on steel provided."
ISG, the nation's second-largest integrated steelmaker, has plants in 10 states.
FreeTAC members include the American Cane Sugar Refiners Association; the National Textile Association; the Florida Citrus Association; Cattlemen's Associations from Kansas, Montana and Washington states; the American Steel Coalition; United Steelworkers of America; and the textile union Unite.