The economy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has grown far beyond its steel industry roots. Yet when President Joe Biden visited on Wednesday, his only stop was to the headquarters of the United Steelworkers.
The labour union’s base provided a fitting backdrop for the president to announce a push for higher tariffs on imported Chinese steel. China’s heavily subsidised steel and aluminium makers have flooded global markets with discounted metals, costing Pennsylvania jobs, he said.
But Biden had a second message as he addressed the cameras, flanked by workers holding USW signs: that US Steel, the Pittsburgh-based American industrial icon, should remain “American-owned, American-operated by American union steelworkers — the best in the world”.