WASHINGTON — The Alliance for American Manufacturing is urging its members to sign a letter demanding that President Trump get tough with Asian leaders on international trade.
"President Trump rode into office promising big things for America's factory workers," said AAM President Scott Paul in a Nov. 1 email to supporters. "But I'm sad to report that he hasn't delivered — and in fact, many of our trade issues are getting worse.
"Now the president is heading to China for a big diplomatic trip, where he needs to finally get tough on China and keep his promises to American workers," he said.
Since China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, some 54,000 U.S. manufacturing facilities and 3.4 million domestic manufacturing jobs have been lost, according to Paul.
"Trump pledged to take this problem on, but the trade deficit with China is up in 2017, rising to nearly $240 billion compared with $225 billion in 2016," he said.
The trade deficit with Japan also has been costly to the U.S., causing some 900,000 American job losses, Paul said.
"Trump has repeatedly promised to stand up for the American worker," he said. "Tell Trump that his trip to Asia is the perfect time for him to do just that."
The letter can be found at action.americanmanufacturing.org.