Alliance Formed to Urge Legislators to Fix Trade Dispute
Tariffs hampering $2.4 billion in goods bound for Mexico.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jul 24, 2009
More than 150 U.S. manufacturers, companies and agricultural interests have announced the formation of a group called the Alliance to Keep U.S. Jobs. This group is going to press the Obama administration and Congress to fix an ongoing U.S.-Mexico trade dispute. These companies were subjected to tariffs by the Government of Mexico only days after the U.S. Congress terminated a U.S. pilot cross-border trucking program, an act that put the United States in violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Obama administration promised to take action several months ago, but no action has been taken. Alliance spokesman Steve Mulder says the Alliance was formed because the industries had become innocent victims of a lengthy political dispute.
Ken Willetts, vice president of marketing and strategy for Appleton Papers, the world's largest producer of carbonless paper, says the 10% tariff puts his company at a competitive disadvantage to Asian and European companies that enter Mexico duty free.
"These tariffs come at time when our company, like so many U.S. manufacturers, has been forced to lay off employees as we struggle to battle some of the worst economic conditions we have ever faced," Willetts said. "Appleton is a 100% employee-owned company. We have very engaged, hardworking employees who are doing everything they can to help us remain competitive in these tough economic times. But the tariffs were not something we could have anticipated or can control." More information on the Alliance and its members can be found at www.keepusjobs.org.
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Tagged: free trade agreement
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