Mill Town Pols Call for 201 to Continue

Congressional Representatives from two different parties who each represent the Alton, Ill., area spoke out in favor of continuing Section 201 protections for the steel industry at a mid-October event that celebrated the re-opening of Alton’s steel mill.

According to a report in the Alton Telegraph, U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., both made remarks favoring a continuation of the Section 201 steel tariffs that have been in place for 18 months.

Raymond Stillwell, an investor in what is now known as Alton Steel Inc., told the local paper that the tariffs do not affect the company directly, as they pertain only to certain categories of steel not made at the Alton facility. He added, though, “What’s good for the steel industry is good for Alton Steel.”

Another speaker at the event, a former United Steelworkers of America (USW) president, spoke out against NAFTA and a U.S. trade agreement with China as well as a proposed agreement that would include all of Central America and South America.

George Becker, past president of the USW, said the startup of Alton Steel Inc. was a good thing, but said it was against a pattern of lost jobs in communities throughout the U.S. that have occurred as a result of foreign imports harming U.S. steel production.

He called NAFTA the “greatest betrayal of working people and small businesses in the history of this country,” according to the Telegraph.

The former union official cited the loss of 750,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs in 10 years and the massive shift of production to Mexico and China by multi-national companies as part of the pattern.