ECORSE/RIVER ROUGE, Michigan: Some steelworkers who cheered US President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign steel last year are now being laid off, an unintended consequence of his America First policy as United States Steel Corp reacts to sagging demand from automakers reeling from higher steel prices.
In June, US Steel idled a blast furnace at the local Great Lakes Works plant in the cities of Ecorse and River Rouge Michigan, an electoral swing state. Two months later, the company decided to temporarily let go of 48 of employees and warned of up to 200 more layoffs by the end of September. "Imported steel was killing us," said River Rouge Mayor Michael Bowdler, who was laid off in 1981 from Great Lakes Works."Something had to be done," said Bowdler, a Democrat.
It has proposed a US$600 million investment to upgrade Great Lakes Works and make it more efficient, a commitment local officials called encouraging. But US Steel wants a tax break from Ecorse and River Rouge to carry out the investment, which will not create new jobs.News of temporary layoffs at Great Lakes Works spurred criticism of Trump's trade policies from Democrats including presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke and Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib.
"We wouldn't have the demises of some of these industries, had we done this 30-40 years ago," said James Perry, executive director at the Downriver Community Conference which runs retraining programs for laid-off workers in Southeast Michigan.The steelmaker accounts for a third of Ecorse's revenues. City officials are also eyeing another US$100,000 in new revenues from the company's proposed investment at Great Lakes Works.
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