One of Northwest Indiana's biggest employers wants to ban Chinese steel from the American market. In a complaint with the International Trade Commission, U.S. Steel says Chinese imports are hurting jobs in places like Indiana.
U.S. Steel is accusing China of price fixing and other illegal practices that, along with their lower labor and regulatory costs, have let China dump steel into the U.S. market, depressing prices.
It's the kind of case presidential hopefuls have also promised to pursue. During an April visit to Hammond, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton said she'd appoint a trade prosecutor to look at China.
"And we're going to send an absolute message, you're not going to get away with this anymore," Clinton said.
Republican favorite Donald Trump also told Indiana voters that steel trade with China was "stupid," not fair or free, and promised to end it.
But the steel problem is already hitting home for some Hoosiers. United Steelworkers Indiana director Mike Millsap said at a pre-election protest that China threw a wrench in the works of contract negotiations with U.S. Steel.
"We didn't get what our workers were entitled to, what our members were entitled to," said Millsap. "We didn't get it because China is flooding this market with steel at a cost that we can't compete at."
The new three-year contract does include higher profit shares, which the union says workers will see once U.S. Steel, quote-"bounces back from the current crisis."