When asked how President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs will affect Pennsylvania, the state’s Democratic U. S. Sen. Bob Casey told a Pittsburgh radio station this week that something needs to be done to create a „level playing field“ for related businesses in the Keystone State.
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\nWhen asked how President Donald Trump\u2019s steel and aluminum tariffs will affect Pennsylvania, the state\u2019s Democratic U. S. Sen. Bob Casey told a Pittsburgh radio station this week that something needs to be done to create a \u201clevel playing field\u201d for related businesses in the Keystone State.
\u201cFor too long, I just don\u2019t think we\u2019ve used these trade remedies to\u2026 enforce trade laws and to hold other countries accountable and get at, frankly, the root of this problem, which for a long time in the context of steel, has been overcapacity of steel \u2026 other countries flooding the market, putting our steelmakers at a disadvantage,\u201d Casey told WESA-FM . \u201cWe want to get to a point where our steelmakers can compete on a level playing field and be able to therefore retain the jobs that are in that industry \u2014 and a lot of that\u2019s here in Pennsylvania.\u201d
And in terms of trade with China, Casey sounded as eager as Trump to hold that nation accountable for its shady dealings.
\u201cOur state has been targeted by the Chinese government,\u201d the senator added. \u201cThe Chinese army hacked into U. S. Steel\u201d and \u201callowed knock-off products\u201d from in-state companies such as Zippo lighters and Martin guitars \u201cto be sold in China.\u201d
Casey added that \u201cChina has gotten away with so much for so long \u2026 cheating on trade deals, cheating on currency, forcing our companies to give up so much just to do business in China. I think we just need a much tougher policy with them.\u201d
TheBlaze on Friday didn\u2019t immediately hear back from the campaign of U. S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pennsylvania) \u2014 Casey\u2019s likely challenger for the Senate seat in November \u2014 in regard to the senator\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n