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| Cement Tariffs Have Got to Go, says Wilson |
August 17, 2005 |
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Cement is Building Block of Jobs and Economic Development
 Albuquerque, NM – Congresswoman Heather Wilson has asked U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez to suspend a $57-per-ton tariff on cement imported from Mexico, saying that jobs and economic development in New Mexico depend on a reliable supply of cement. Wilson’s request comes in the wake of a looming cement shortage that could slow down our state’s economic boom.
“I write to request that you suspend the $57-per-ton tariff on imported Mexican cement,” said Wilson in a letter to Gutierrez. “Cement is an important building block of economic growth. I have become increasingly concerned that the nationwide cement shortage could undermine the health of New Mexico’s construction and housing sectors and the nation’s economy as a whole. Removing the cement tariffs on Mexican imports could be part of the solution.”
Two weeks ago, GCC Rio Grande, the operator of New Mexico’s only cement plant, told its customers that it was going to begin rationing the supply of cement. The company serves the construction industries through two distribution channels in Albuquerque, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. On August 3, 2005, GCC Rio Grande Vice President William Webb told the Albuquerque Journal that “It’s like having a gallon jug and 100 people that need a drink” and that the company had to ration its supplies of cement just to maintain some flow of product to its customers.
 Wilson says the price of cement is largely determined by the transportation costs involved in delivering the cement.
“While most cement imports that come from Asia take about 44 days to reach a U.S. port, a Mexican shipment can reach my central New Mexico district in less than week. I ask that you take decisive action to suspend the tariff on imported cement before many contractors and home builders in my district will be forced to lay off workers because they cannot get cement for jobs,” Wilson told Gutierrez.
The U.S. Department of Commerce enacted the tariffs 15 years ago to slow down the so-called “dumping” of cheap cement supplies into the U.S.
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Attachment: Wilson letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
August 10, 2005
Carlos M. Gutierrez
Office of the Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230
Dear Secretary Gutierrez,
I write to request that you suspend the $57-per-ton tariff on imported Mexican cement.
The United States can only produce about 75 percent of the cement it needs using existing plants. We import the rest. But cement that otherwise would be shipped to the United States is being redirected to projects in China, a major supplier of cement, where there is a building boom, and to rebuilding in south Asia in the aftermath of last year`s tsunami.
Cement is an important building block of economic growth. I have become increasingly concerned that the nationwide cement shortage could undermine the health of New Mexico’s construction and housing sectors and the nation’s economy as a whole. Removing the cement tariffs on Mexican imports could be part of the solution.
Two weeks ago, GCC Rio Grande, the operator of New Mexico’s only cement plant, told its customers that it was going to begin rationing the supply of cement. The company serves the construction industries through two distribution channels in Albuquerque, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. On August 3, 2005, GCC Rio Grande Vice President William Webb told the Albuquerque Journal that “It’s like having a gallon jug and 100 people that need a drink” and that the company had to ration its supplies of cement just to maintain some flow of product to its customers.
The price of cement is largely determined by the transportation costs involved in delivering the cement. While most cement imports that come from Asia take about 44 days to reach a U.S. port, a Mexican shipment can reach my central New Mexico district in less than week.
I ask that you take decisive action to suspend the tariff on imported cement before many contractors and home builders in my district will be forced to lay off workers because they cannot get cement for jobs.
Sincerely,
Heather Wilson
Member of Congress |
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