Commerce Proposes 25% Brass-Instrument Tariff After 150 Ohio Jobs Moved to China
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 7
Commerce Proposes 25% Brass-Instrument Tariff After 150 Ohio Jobs Moved to China
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 7
Summary
A 25% tariff on imported brass-wind instruments was proposed this week by the Commerce Department, weeks after Conn Selmer shut its last unionized U.S. factory in Eastlake, Ohio.
The measure covers instruments like tubas, sousaphones and French horns and is being justified on national-security grounds, alongside tariffs on 13 other aluminum, steel and copper derivative goods.
Conn Selmer's closure came just over five weeks ago and eliminated about 150 jobs, with a substantial share of the plant's work set to be offshored to China.
The timing has sharpened criticism because the tariff arrives too late for displaced workers, some with more than 40 years at the plant, many of whom said the government failed to stop the offshoring.