Wyden, DeFazio Defend Oregon Jobs
Before International Trade Commission
Lawmakers testify against high tariff that could endanger Eugene’s Hynix plant

 

June 24, 2003

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) testified today before the International Trade Commission (ITC) to defend the jobs of more than 1,000 Oregonians working at the Hynix semiconductor plant in Eugene. Eugene’s plant is a U.S. subsidiary of Korea’s Hynix Manufacturing, Inc., a major global producer of semiconductors. Today’s ITC hearing concerned an ongoing trade dispute which has charged incorrectly that the Eugene plant’s semiconductors should be counted as imports rather than as U.S. manufactures, that they are injuring the U.S. semiconductor market, and that Hynix exports from Korea to the U.S. should be subject to high tariffs. The U.S. Department of Commerce last week set an unfairly high tariff in the Hynix case; today Wyden and DeFazio urged the ITC not to apply the tariff, which could cause the shutdown of the Hynix plant and the loss of much-needed jobs in Eugene.

“Oregonians are struggling with the highest unemployment rate in the country, and now is not the time to let a baseless trade dispute torpedo another 1,000-plus jobs in our state,” said Wyden after the hearing. “The International Trade Commission ought to consider the impact of this case on working families in Oregon and refuse to apply this hurtful, unreasonable tariff.”

“Hynix has been one of the only bright spots in an otherwise dismal economy in Southwest Oregon, and unlike many companies, Hynix has rehired employees after temporary layoffs, even in the midst of recession,” said DeFazio. “I would hate to see the Bush Administration's International Trade Commission play a role in putting 1,000 people out of a job, especially in a state with the highest unemployment rate in the country.”

Hynix has invested more than $1 billion in its manufacturing facilities in Eugene, and the company has ongoing commitments to increase that investment. The U.S. Department of Commerce has previously recognized Hynix products as domestic; other semiconductor manufacturers launched the trade dispute against Hynix in an attempt to squeeze the company out of the lagging semiconductor market. Wyden and DeFazio urged ITC commissioners today to take the roots of the Hynix case into account, as well as the value of Hynix jobs in Eugene, in making their determination.

“Trade law is not intended to serve as a curtain behind which less competitive companies could hide until the global market for semiconductors comes back around,” said Wyden. “The jobs at this facility offer a bright light amidst a shadow-filled economy, and every job that can be retained takes on greater significance against Oregon’s bleak economic backdrop.”

“With a global economic downturn in the semiconductor market, it's hard not to see this as a direct attempt to knock a competitor out of business,” said DeFazio. “Micron has even admitted that falling semiconductor prices are due, ‘principally to two factors: seasonal weakness in computer demand, and relative leveling of memory content per system,’ not competition with Hynix chips.”

A determination from the ITC on whether to apply the Hynix tariff is expected in July; today’s testimony is the latest installment in a long effort by the two lawmakers to protect Hynix jobs. This week, Wyden and DeFazio were joined by the rest of the Oregon delegation in writing to ITC to oppose the application of high tariffs against Hynix. In March, Wyden and Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) introduced a resolution calling for the Federal government to continue to encourage semiconductor trade between Korea and the United States, citing the importance of the Eugene manufacturing plant and its local jobs to the Oregon economy. The Smith-Wyden resolution specifically called on the Federal government to refrain from activities that would cause political or economic tensions between the U.S. and Korea in the area of semiconductor trade, as well as to carefully consider all the facts of the case surrounding the current trade dispute.