Edwards Statement Regarding Milliken Plant Closings In South Carolina

Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Edwards Statement Regarding Milliken Plant Closings In South Carolina

Edwards Statement Regarding Milliken Plant Closings In South Carolina COLUMBIA, SC: Senator John Edwards (D-NC) today made the following statement in response to Milliken & Co.'s announcement that that they will close two textile plants and eliminate 260 jobs:

"Today, we learned of the loss of an additional 260 South Carolina textile jobs. This is devastating news.

"Since George W. Bush took office, South Carolina has lost more than 54,000 manufacturing jobs and unemployment was at a nine-year high. With each new plant closing, with each new blow to the men and women that work in our mills and their families, it is clear that this president does not know how to enforce fair trade laws or fix our economy. South Carolina deserves better.

"A tidal wave of textile and apparel imports is swamping American communities, causing plants to close and destroying American manufacturing jobs—jobs that are the anchor of communities like Saluda and Union and many others throughout South Carolina. Their loss has a ripple effect that spreads far and wide, and we are in desperate need of forceful action to protect workers in this state and across the country from unfair competition from overseas.

"We must act immediately to protect U.S. textile manufacturers against the current flood of imports from China and insist that currency manipulation end. The need for these actions grows stronger every day, and too much time has already been spent idle at the expense of America's workers."