Golden: US must stand up to China’s unfair attempts to undermine American industry

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released the following statement regarding President Biden’s announcement today of new administrative efforts to protect American steel manufacturers and shipbuilders from China’s unfair trade practices: 

“When China undermines U.S. manufacturers, it hurts our economy, threatens our national security and undermines good, middle-class jobs,” Golden said. “We cannot just stand by as China rigs the system by flooding the market with cheap, inferior steel. Our industrial and trade policies should protect American workers and jobs, and I support any effort by any president, Republican or Democrat, to stand up for the American steelworkers and shipbuilders who are more than able to compete on a level playing field.”

China’s efforts to undermine American steel manufacturing are particularly troublesome for American shipbuilding. Five major labor unions representing American steelworkers, shipbuilders, and other American manufacturing workers, wrote to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in March, outlining unfair Chinese trade practices, including flooding the market with below-market-cost steel that is distorting the global shipbuilding market and eroding competition. The unions requested an investigation into those practices.

The Biden administration today announced several actions to support US steel and shipbuilding: a request to the USTR to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum; imposing more than 30 anti-dumping duties on steel products; investigating China’s unfair shipbuilding practices; and investing $575 million in US-steel production. 

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