Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has opposed President Biden’s pick for deputy US trade representative in part because of the work the nominee’s lobbying firm did for Chinese glass companies — even though Brown celebrated the same company’s purchase of an Ohio factory a decade ago.
The White House announced on January 11 that Nelson Cunningham has been tapped to oversee the administration’s trade policy for the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, labor and the environment, pending Senate confirmation.
On January 24, Brown issued a statement urging Biden to “nominate someone” who would “stand by the working people of Ohio”.
The 71-year-old knocked Cunningham for supporting the Trans Pacific Partnership and his firm, McLarty Associates, for “focusing on lobbying for foreign interests, including lobbying for the Chinese company Fuyao Glass starting in 2019.”
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) opposed President Biden’s pick for deputy US trade representative over his firm’s lobbying work for a Chinese glass company that Brown previously celebrated. The White House AP announced Jan. 11 that Nelson Cunningham has been tapped to oversee administration policy, pending Senate confirmation. Facebook
“My values have always been clear: I will only support trade nominees who have rejected failed policies in the past and have a demonstrated record of standing on the side of workers,” the senator said.
“We should not have anyone leading our trade policy who supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would be a terrible deal for Ohio workers,” Brown added. “The TPP was written by companies behind closed doors, lacks enforceable labor and currency standards, and will undermine America’s auto supply chain.”
But the Ohio Democrat touted the US subsidiary of Chinese auto safety glass maker Fuyao Glass America for buying a former General Motors plant in 2014, calling the move “good news for the City of Moraine and the people of the Miami Valley. “
On January 24, Brown issued a statement urging Biden to “nominate someone” who would “stand by the working people of Ohio”. AFP via Getty Images
Brown is proud to have secured more than $25 million in federal grants to redevelop the factory site after the 2008 recession with the help of a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate firm.
The firm, Industrial Realty Group, sold parts of the plant to several companies between 2012 and 2014, with Fuyao becoming the anchor tenant after buying 1.4 million square feet for $15 million in May 2014, according to the Dayton Daily News.
One of the firm’s executives also told the outlet that chairman Fuyao Cao Dewang – who later became a deputy of Beijing’s National People’s Congress – was attracted to the Ohio plant because of the “good conditions.”
One of the firm’s executives also told the outlet that Fuyao chairman Cao Dewang was attracted to the Ohio plant because of “good conditions.” Google Maps
Fuyao ended up investing $450 million into the plant — its largest purchase in Ohio — and Brown spoke at the plant’s grand opening in October 2016.
“We are working together at all levels of government – federal, state, local – to bring new life to this historic mill, and support approximately 2,000 new jobs,” he said in a statement at the time. “This is how we create the manufacturing jobs of the future.”
In his statement against Cunningham, Brown blamed Fuyao for the “union-busting activities in Dayton” that were made public in the 2019 Netflix documentary “American Factory,” but the film also revealed the company’s extensive pro-Beijing influence campaign against US workers.
The Chinese auto glass maker ended up investing $450 million into the plant — its largest purchase in Ohio — and Brown went on to speak at the plant’s grand opening in October 2016. Fuyao Glass
One scene shows the company’s Chinese employees in a seminar discussing how to “take advantage of American characteristics to get them to work for Fuyao,” noting that they tend to be “overconfident.”
“We have to use our wisdom to guide them and help them because we are better than them,” said the head of the seminar frankly.
“No one has been more aggressive in standing up to companies that exploit Ohio workers than Sherrod Brown,” a spokeswoman for his office told The Post. “Brown publicly challenged Fuyao to allow their workers to organize a union at the company’s 2016 grand opening in Dayton.”
One scene shows the company’s Chinese employees in a seminar discussing how to “take advantage of American characteristics to make them work for Fuyao.” Youtube
“When Fuyao engaged in union busting, he aggressively and publicly held the company accountable for failing its workers,” the representative added. “Sherrod knows that Ohio has the best workers in the world and he will call out any company that illegally fights their right to organize.”
Cunningham — who never lobbied for Fuyao personally, according to Senate disclosures — made the maximum contribution of $3,300 to Brown’s 2024 re-election campaign last year.
Cunningham previously served as special counsel to President Bill Clinton and before that as general counsel to then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Joe Biden.
Brown’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
