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Texas Senate approves Creighton's 'Buy America' steel bill- The 18th China(Guangzhou ) Int’l tube & pipe Processing Equipment Exhibition
5/10/2017 -steel tube expo-tube &pipe expo |
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Chron.com reported that a bill sponsored by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, that would require that only steel made in America be used in state construction projects is moving forward after easily passing the Texas Senate.
Creighton''s Senate Bill 1289 is with the Texas House after being approved in a 23-7 Senate vote. If passed and signed into law, it would require large state projects such as buildings, roads and bridges be built only with steel made by US companies. A similar "Buy America" bill is being considered by a House committee.
Mr Creighton after the Senate''s approval said that "This bill advancing is a great step for Texas iron and steel manufacturers. Too many Texas facilities have closed with the influx of government-backed foreign steel hurting American free market competition."
Although Texas isn''t a state necessarily known for its iron and steel manufacturing, it is nevertheless home to dozens of steel plants that employ scores of people, especially when the facilities are running at full capacity. The industry group Friends of Texas Iron & Steel says Texas steel industry jobs pay an average of USD 50,000 before benefits, while also supporting an additional 68,000 jobs across the state. The industry also sends millions of dollars of tax revenue to state coffers, while also serving as the state''s number one recycler.
Likewise during a steel industry, slump local communities are hit especially hard when a plant shuts down. In Conroe, Tenaris laid off 230 workers when it suspended work at its welded tubes mill in April 2015. At the time, the Houston-based company blamed "unfairly traded imports" from South Korea for the closure.
Mr Creighton added that "Texas companies should have to compete against other companies no matter where they are from. But Texas companies should not have to compete against other governments."
Mr Creighton''s bill, and the companion bill being considered by the Texas House committee, comes as President Trump has been pledging to boost manufacturing in the US and to slow the loss of jobs to foreign manufacturers. Last month, the president issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to "Buy American and Hire American." The directive is intended to boost protections for American-made goods and to save US jobs. The order also calls for a review of the H-1B visa program for skilled foreign workers.
- The 18th China(Guangzhou ) Int’l tube
& pipe Processing Equipment Exhibition
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