— Report: “Aluminum tariffs have led to a strong recovery in employment, production, and investment in primary aluminum and downstream industries,” from The Economic Policy Institute
Politico Pro
December 14, 2018
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released new research that shows after Section 232 tariffs were imposed on aluminum (and steel) in March 2018, the domestic producers of both primary and downstream aluminum products have made commitments to create over 3,000 jobs. At the same time, these domestic producers should generate over $3.4 billion in new investments and substantially increase domestic production of aluminum. Robert Scott, director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research, explains that in early 2017, the U.S. primary aluminum industry had almost disappeared completely. Between 2010 and 2017, 18 of 23 aluminum smelters shut down, eliminating roughly 13,000 jobs. In 2016, there were three alumina refineries supplying U.S. smelters, and by 2017, only one remained in operation. (whole story)
24/7 Wall St.
December 14, 2018
U.S. aluminum tariffs imposed in March have had their intended impact to date of increasing domestic jobs and production, the Economic Policy Institute said Tuesday. U.S. employment in aluminum industries increased by 300 jobs from the month before the tariffs were imposed to October, the institute’s report said. Meanwhile, U.S. output of both raw alumina and processed aluminum rose 9.8 percent, and the output of rolled and extruded aluminum products rose 9.1 percent, during that same time, the Federal Reserve’s industrial production physical output data indicate. (whole story)
UPI
December 14, 2018
Domestic industry is rebounding, argues EPI study. It’s been months now since the Trump administration raised tariffs on steel and aluminum tariffs, citing the faltering of domestic industries as a national security concern. The industries had long complained about the growth of excess capacity and overproduction in China, where that growth is fueled by a raft of government subsidies. A lot is typically written about the steel tariffs, because steel makes up a larger market. But what has the impact of tariffs been on the aluminum market? A new report from the Economic Policy Institute tackles this question directly. At a press conference today the author and tariff advocates argued the tariffs have actually kinda worked: (whole story)
Alliance for American Manufacturing
December 14, 2018
If you ignore the fact that tariffs are taxes, it’s pretty easy to make tariffs look good. That’s what a report released this week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a union-backed think tank, tries to do. By ignoring the costs of higher taxes on imported aluminum, the EPI study claims that President Donald Trump’s aluminum tariffs have created about 300 jobs at American aluminum manufacturers. In addition, the report claims, American aluminum suppliers and processors have made more than $3 billion in economic investments since the tariffs were imposed—including the restarting of three smelters that had previously been closed—investments that could, eventually, create as many as 2,000 additional manufacturing jobs. (whole story)
Reason.com
December 14, 2018
Today, in a presentation at the National Press Club of Washington, the American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA) in conjunction with Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) and the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA), addressed the economic effects of President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. As part of this presentation, EPI released a new economic study on the impact the aluminum tariffs have had on the aluminum industry, which shows conclusively that the tariffs are helping boost aluminum production and create jobs. (whole press release, syndicated in dozens of papers)
American Primary Aluminum Association
December 14, 2018
Since then, the broad topic of employers’ ability to set wages, often at rates below a worker’s worth, has continued to draw attention from policymakers and economists, who have, in recent papers, primarily focused on the effects of employer market concentration on wages and inequality. But in a new report, economists Josh Bivensand Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, caution against an exclusive focus on market concentration. Market concentration is a source of employer power, they argue, but it’s far from the only one. (whole story)
Pacific Standard
December 14, 2018
A new rule proposed by the Trump administration in an attempt to weaken the power of labor unions could cost American workers $1.3 billion in lost wages annually, a new study by the Economic Policy Institute has found. The rule proposal would limit the joint employment standard under the National Labor Relations Act.
Newsweek
December 14, 2018
A workers’ rights group on Monday said the National Labor Relations Board’s proposal to narrow the circumstances in which companies are held liable for labor law violations by their contractors and franchisees and must bargain with their employees could deprive many workers of the benefits of unionizing. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in comments submitted to the board said unionized employees who work for contractors and temporary staffing agencies alone would lose at least $1.3 billion in wages annually if the NLRB’s September proposal on so-called “joint employment” is adopted.
Reuters
December 14, 2018
The National Labor Relations Board’s proposed regulation tightening its standard for finding businesses jointly employ the same group of employees will cost workers $1.3 billion a year by making it harder…The NLRB is proposing to require evidence of “direct control” of work conditions before it labels a business a joint employer, which the Economic Policy Institute …
Law360
December 14, 2018