Lawmakers call for Trump to visit facilities in Lorain

3/28/2017

Kaptur

THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
Buy This Image

LORAIN, Ohio — Ohio’s two U.S. senators and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur on Monday issued a joint invitation to Trump Administration Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to visit Lorain to see the consequences of unfair trade practices on the steel industry.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D.), U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R.), and Miss Kaptur (D., Toledo) said President Trump highlighted the importance of the steel sector during his campaign.

According to the letter, United States Steel Corp. recently announced the permanent idling of its No. 6 Quench and Temper facility in Lorain. Republic Steel had said that it would close its nearby facility and lay off 200 workers. In total, more than 1,000 steelworkers in Lorain have been laid off since 2015.

It says that between January, 2015 and December, 2016, more than 14,000 U.S. steelworkers lost their jobs.

The letter says, “We write to invite you to visit Lorain, Ohio, to meet with steel companies and steelworkers. This community has been hit hard by the downturn in the steel sector and would benefit from hearing you discuss the Administration’s plan to help defend U.S. steel companies from unfair trade practices that have caused numerous facilities to idle and thousands of workers to be laid off across the country.”

“If unfair trade practices by China and other trading partners are left unaddressed, more steelworkers will be laid off and more steel mills will be closed,” the letter said.

Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 or on Twitter @TomFTroy.