UK steel maker to lay off 1,200 amid cheap Chinese imports

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By DANICA KIRKA

LONDON (AP) — Tata Steel announced plans to cut 1,200 jobs in the U.K. on Tuesday, underscoring the damage caused by cheap Chinese imports and throwing a shroud over the first day of a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping designed to usher in a "golden era" of relations between the two countries.

The announcement of layoffs in northeast England and Scotland flatly blames the job losses on a "flood of cheap imports, particularly from China," together with a strong pound and high electricity costs. Though the layoffs have been rumored for days, the timing of the announcement — coming on the first day of Xi's visit — seemed certain to win maximum attention.

"The U.K. steel industry is struggling for survival in the face of extremely challenging market conditions," Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel's European operations, said in a statement. "This industry has a crucial role to play in rebalancing the U.K. economy, but we need a fairer system to encourage growth."

Koehler called on the European Commission, the governing body for the European Union, to do much more to deal with unfairly traded imports.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7f0c79a34fe74cad9c3ff7274fdc3128/uk-steel-maker-lay-1200-amid-cheap-chinese-imports

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Free trade???

[kelliekat44]

1. At some point our building industry needs to refuse inferior quality steel from China. US

buyers suffer in the long run. Can't blame China for maxing their income but we can fault US construction developers who insist on making mega profits by using the inferior stuff and then blaming China for selling to them what they continue to buy. In the end only the American consumer suffers from expensive, inferior built construction, loss of jobs. We never see our own role in our own demise. Housing is not cheaper because of cheap materials, the costs keep rising, wages are not increasing to cause the high prices. We are being sold a BS by our own developers, city governments and state governments.

[malokvale77]

4. Well hey...

Jerry Jones bragged about how much Chinese Steel was in his over priced, taxpayer funded mega-dome.

[Sunlei]

6. We consumers should be able to directly buy the cheap chinese steel and cut out the

American businesses profits.

[uawchild]

2. race to the bottom

The corporate states are "rebalancing" the US and EU's economies so that the lowest 20% live at 3rd world standards, the next 40% lives, at best, at second world standards. They feel this is necessary for us to be "competitive" in the "global" economy -- America's ruling class no longer cares where it makes it profits, the American lower middle class is simply expendable in their brave new world.

"Alan Greenspan Thinks White Collar Workers Earn Too Much"

"In one of the most extraordinary interviews I've read for quite some time, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan argues that the solution to declining workforce productivity is to lower the wages of the most productive parts of the work force."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43730337

Interesting insights into the mindset of our ruling class.

[Sunlei]

9. America really needs to remove the local laws & regulations that ban small businesses

Small family owned business (and I mean 4-10 people top as "small&quot used to be the backbone of America.

[uawchild]

11. "remove the local laws & regulations that ban small businesses"? Huh? WHAT are you talking about?

"America really needs to remove the local laws & regulations that ban small businesses"

What in the world are you talking about?
Are you trolling with Republican talking points? Sorry, but it sounds that way. If it continues, its the ignore bin for you, I don't come to DU to hear Republican talking points from posters.

[Sunlei]

12. I meant local ordnances that ban small businesses in a persons home.

Quite a few outright bans in most local ordnances and neighborhood association 'laws' and regulations. Americans have lost their LOCAL personal freedoms in many areas across America.

Kids can't even have a lemonade stand in some neighborhoods.

Don't make me drag out my "neighborhood laws" if you don't believe me. Small local businesses, SELF-EMPLOYMENT, used to be the backbone of America.

[uawchild]

13. ok, you are trolling with Republican talking points

"Quite a few outright bans in most local ordnances and neighborhood association 'laws' and regulations. Americans have lost their LOCAL personal freedoms in many areas across America. Kids can't even have a lemonade stand in some neighborhoods. "

Sorry, but I have no time for your trolling over lemonade stands. But please continue with the hyperbole, tell Reince Priebus I said hi.


Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee

[Sunlei]

14. No, I'm not trolling for the damned republican scammers!

You're obviously misunderstand me totally.

please do add me to your ignore list. I won't miss you at all.

[Sunlei]

15. "I don't come to DU to hear Republican talking points" Member since: Wed Oct 7, 2015

/snicker.

[pampango]

3. China only has 'free trade agreements' with Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland among Western

countries, along with South Korea, Chile and Singapore. China does not have 'free trade' with the UK though I think the EU is discussing the possibility of beginning such negotiations with China.

[Sunlei]

7. yes, China is not for free trade. They are not a signer country for TPP agreement either.

[Omaha Steve]

8. Understood

I meant free trade in general as in the TPP going to Congress. There is a trade deal with Europe in the works too.

[Turborama]

5. Good piece about Osborne's love affair with China from today's Hong Kong Free Press

What the Communist Party wants from Britain’s George Osborn

Be in no doubt that they want a puppet in the heart of the western alliance. And Osborne seems only too eager to line himself up for the position.

https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/10/20/what-the-communist-party-wants-from-britains-george-osborne/

[Sunlei]

10. Its because China will help w/ 'political strats' like when they cut by 50% for Romney-

solar panel wholesale prices in a couple days, so the New American Solar Panel Factory would be forced to not open. The very month they were set to open. Thus costing more American jobs and hurt the American economy even more.

[Turborama]

20. It goes much deeper than that.

There's a nuclear power station contract and a lot of other billion pound deals going on. I'm starting to think he's paving the way for an exit from the EU.

[whatthehey]

16. Tata Steel? According to much of DU those are "Indian jobs" to begin with then

Since if an American HQ company opens a plant in another nation those are "American jobs" being shopped away, why are these not "Indian Jobs". Tata Steel is as much a "UK Steel Maker" as Buick is a Chinese car company. Either the location counts or only the HQ does, but at least let's be consistent

[uawchild]

17. excellent point: global corporations have no national loyalties.

Thanks for pointing out that it's not just "western" corporations that don't care where they make their profits. The global corporation has no national loyalty, and that fact should be seared into the consciousness of the voting public here in the US and in the UK and , as you point out correctly, in India. The interests of corporations and their home/host nations no longer necessarily run parallel.
Thought provoking point. Thanks.

[whatthehey]

18. My tendency though is to believe the location is the key point

But I am indeed consistent. Buick production in China = Chinese jobs. Tata Steel in the UK = British jobs. The HQ location IMO IS irrelevant. British people, mostly anyway, will be losing these jobs. That's where the impact is. But I do resist the temptation to say that this is the choice, the fault, or a problem with British government or society. Tata wanted/needed to make steel there for a while, but no longer has that need or desire. Simple as that.

You are right, corporations have no national loyalty. I suspect we differ on whether they should have any or not. Nations can and do pass laws about tax breaks, contract limitations, regulatory environments etc that will attract or repel businesses. That is what nations are responsible for. But if steel plant in country Y is profitable and sister plant in country Z is running a loss, only outright short-sighted national bribery can, temporarily, keep those jobs there, where really they should not be any more and where any rational company no longer wants them. Much like collieries producing coal at twice the cost for which coal could be sold were kept open pre-Thatcher. To what end? To keep people busy? To buy votes? That's not producing any holistic benefit to society.

[uawchild]

19. nations should be responsible, very true

"Nations can and do pass laws about tax breaks, contract limitations, regulatory environments etc that will attract or repel businesses. That is what nations are responsible for." I could not agree more with this point. As I said in my post, the interests of corporations and their home/host nations are not necessarily parallel. This was alway true -- but even more so in this era of globalization.

There was this old saw, that is saying: "What is good for business, is good for America". This is, of course, not necessarily true. But it's this lingering mindset that I personally feel needs to be pointed out and corrected.

Thanks again for your thought provoking posts.