Testimony of Tom Conway, Before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) Final Hearing on Circular Welded Pipe

Testimony of Tom Conway, Before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) Final Hearing on Circular Welded Pipe

click link

continued flap over imported pipes

snip

 We also have some good news --earlier this month, meetings were held between local USW representatives and Wheatland executives to evaluate the feasibility of reopening the continuous weld mill at Sharon and to have USW members be recalled in the process.  These USW members have been out of jobs for three and a half years. So, clearly, this is a very exciting development for them; it literally means a decent shot of regaining a good livelihood back into the middle class and dignity for themselves and their families. It also means over 100,000 tons of additional domestic steel consumption, which hopefully can begin to alter a vicious cycle into a virtuous cycle.  

As the Commission has heard today -- and time and again -- our members have made tremendous sacrifices to stay competitive over the years, and I’m proud to represent today a truly talented and dedicated workforce producing circular welded pipe.  I would note that this industry has sufficient capacity to supply the entire U.S. market.   But what we cannot afford is unfairly traded imports from India, Oman, UAE, and Vietnam to supply the U.S. market.  Rather, we need American workers using American-made steel to supply this market.  On behalf of all of our workers, I ask that you make affirmative injury determinations in these cases.