DJ, you seem to always appreciate good irony, or aluminum, or steel, or anything else that may be found at Walmart USA :0)
To not stress your irony detector unnecessarily, I have bolded the iron part ;0)
The reporter was good to not speculate on whether the steel structures in question are (a) made from US scrap steel outbid from US mini-mills that had to shut down due to steel tariffs and Chinese raising bid on scrap steel, and (b) whether the building that the steel structures will be used in are financed by Greensputin's cheap money ;0)
china.scmp.com
Friday, March 12, 2004
Bush's jobs saviour owns a Beijing plant
PETER GOFF
A US businessman expected to be appointed to a new position to help save American jobs and bolster the beleaguered manufacturing sector has recently set up his own factory in Beijing, it emerged yesterday.
The US Commerce Department was due to announce yesterday that Tony Raimondo, who runs the US-based manufacturing company Behlen, would be appointed as assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing and services.
US President George W. Bush created the position six months ago to tackle rising unemployment in the manufacturing industry, which he blamed partly on the trend of production moving overseas.
However, a Washington press conference to announce the appointment was abruptly cancelled yesterday, allegedly due to "scheduling conflicts".
The move came shortly after Mr Bush's expected opponent in this year's US presidential election, Democrat John Kerry, released reports to the media saying Behlen laid off 75 American workers two years ago, just four months after announcing plans to set up on the mainland.
Mr Raimondo was in his new factory in Beijing planning a major expansion when the call came from the White House saying he had got the job, James Wu, general manager of Behlen's Beijing plant, told the South China Morning Post yesterday.
"We are all so proud, it is a great honour for Behlen," Mr Wu said.
But it was unclear last night if the nomination would be scrapped at the 11th hour.
Mr Kerry has made job losses a major issue in the election campaign, claiming Mr Bush has presided over the loss of more than 2.5 million manufacturing jobs.
Republicans feared that nominating a person who has been accused of outsourcing jobs to the mainland would play into the Democrats' hands, a diplomatic source said yesterday.
"It's simply too ironic for words," he said.
Behlen's Beijing operation, which makes steel structures, employs 200 people, Mr Wu said.
"We are very pleased with the way things are progressing here," he said. "We will be pressing ahead with expansion plans in the very near future, building a second phase and doubling our staff."
The company is a joint venture between Behlen and the city government, Mr Wu said, adding that it had been agreed that Behlen's stake in the business would soon rise from 15 per cent to 65 per cent.
The company paid factory floor staff between 1,000 to 2,000 yuan a month, he said, "which is quite a bit more than the state-owned enterprises pay".
"The bills are much lower here than in the US, but productivity is much lower too ... where one worker will do in the States, I need four or five here."
But he said his biggest challenge lies in trying to convince local government officials to pay their bills.
|
