Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and a group of colleagues urged President Trump to address Chinese steel dumping and overcapacity and hold China accountable on trade.
"You have consistently reaffirmed your commitment to supporting steelworker jobs, and Chinese steel dumping is a major contributor to American manufacturing job loss," wrote McCaskill and her fellow Senators in a letter to President Trump. "As Senators from leading steel and iron ore producing states, we have seen firsthand how this steel dumping has displaced American steelworkers. We hope that you will continue to strongly enforce our trade laws In addition to building on the progress that has been made thus far, we respectfully urge you to make it clear to President Xi that Chinese steel dumping and illegal trade practices are unacceptable."
Due to the recent downturn in steel production, more than 13,600 Americans have been laid off and the steel industry is facing billions in losses. The Senators called on the President to continue strong enforcement of U.S. trade laws and to work with President Xi to stop China from unfairly subsidizing their domestic industries and reduce their overcapacity.
In her continued efforts to protect Missouri's producers from unfair trade practices, after urging from McCaskill on behalf of Missouri manufacturers Bull Moose Tube Company and EXLTUBE, the International Trade Commission voted 4-2 to level the playing field for Missouri and U.S. manufacturers by finalizing duties against foreign steel pipe and tubing producers found to be illegally dumping in the international market.
In 2015, McCaskill joined a bipartisan effort urging President Barack Obama to make the Chinese approval process for the biotech agriculture industry a priority prior to Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States. McCaskill also took bipartisan action against protectionist measures by Russia that are harming Missouri agriculture exports and U.S. job growth.
McCaskill--a longtime supporter of the Keystone XL Pipeline--has also raised questions about President Trump removing the "Buy America" requirement for the construction of the pipeline. She has long supported "Buy America" provisions for infrastructure projects, and previously supported an amendment that would have required the use of domestic steel in the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.