USW Welcomes Curbs on Forced Labor, Urges Collaboration with Canadian Allies

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, [email protected]

PITTSBURGH – United Steelworkers (USW) International President Roxanne Brown issued the following statement today in response to the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) announcement that it will implement Section 301 actions against countries engaging in forced labor:

“Our union welcomes the administration’s efforts to use our nation’s trade policies to curtail forced labor and other abusive trade practices.

“Strong enforcement against forced labor protects workers abroad while helping ensure that American manufacturers and workers compete on a level playing field.

“Workers abroad should never face coercion, exploitation, or the denial of fundamental human rights, and workers at home should never be forced to compete against products made through these abusive practices.

“At the same time, we remain deeply concerned by the decision to extend these tariffs to Canada while the Canadian government is actively strengthening its ban on goods manufactured with forced labor.  

“The United States and Canada share a unique economic partnership built on decades of integrated manufacturing, common security interests and a shared commitment to raising labor standards. Canada should be our partner in confronting unfair trade, rather than a target of measures intended to address it.

“As the administration implements the results of this investigation, we urge it to continue pursuing aggressive action against forced labor while working with Canada, so that together we can work to enforce human rights and bolster North American manufacturing.”

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of people in tech, higher education, public sector and service occupations.

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