Sen. Charles E. Schumer says he will hold up two Trump administration nominees to ensure the Massena Alcoa plant and other manufacturers are protected from unfair practices.

Schumer in an Oct. 31 statement said he will hold up two Department of Commerce nominees, Gil Kaplan for undersecretary of commerce for international trade and Nazakhtar Nikakhtar for assistant secretary of commerce, industry and analysis.

Schumer’s announcement comes after what his office describes as “his frustration with the Administration’s failure to resolve the ongoing investigations into the impact of steel and aluminum imports on national security,” formally known as “Sec. 232 investigations.”

“Schumer and eight other Senate Democrats wrote a letter to President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross regarding them urging them to complete these investigations as soon as possible. Despite statements by the president and administration officials indicating the imminent conclusion of these investigations, they have failed to both complete it and present its findings to the president. These statements by the president and administration officials caused a surge in imports – and a subsequent closure of a Pennsylvania factory -- as foreign producers imported before any import restrictions are put into place,” according to a news release from Schumer’s office.

“Upstate New York companies like Alcoa and Nucor want to provide high-quality aluminum and steel to businesses in and around the country, but overproduction from China and other countries is threatening Upstate New York’s metal industry by making it almost impossible for companies that play by the rules to compete,” Schumer said in a prepared statement. “While the administration once preached efforts to crack down on China, it now appears they were just reading us a fairy tale of promises, which actually does not live up to a real crackdown on foreign predatory trade practices. For this reason, I will be placing a hold on the Senate floor on two top pending Commerce Department nominees – Gil Kaplan for Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade and Nazakhtar Nikakhtar for Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Industry and Analysis – until the Commerce Department provides a satisfactory and meaningful response on the progress critical investigations that will help protect our Upstate steel and aluminum companies.”

China and other foreign governments continue to provide massive subsidies to their steel and aluminum sectors in order to boost their economic growth, according to a news release from Schumer’s office.

This foreign steel and aluminum is exported to the United States often at artificially cheap prices, which undercuts United States producers like Alcoa and Nucor and the companies that use US-produced raw steel like Klein Steel. The Sec. 232 investigations were initiated to ensure that these imports do not threaten the ability of U.S. steel and aluminum industries to meet our defense and critical infrastructure needs. These investigations, when concluded, will provide a report to the president on possible trade action, Schumer’s office said.

“Schumer has long pressed previous administrations to secure commitments from China to level the playing field for steel and aluminum workers in New York. Schumer supported the “Level the Playing Field Act” which strengthened U.S. antidumping laws and has advocated for the vigorous enforcement of U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws. These efforts have helped the U.S. steel and aluminum industries put in place more duties on artificially cheap steel and aluminum imports. However, subsidized steel and aluminum from China and other countries is being rerouted through third countries in Asia and exported to the U.S. without being assessed duties,” Schumer’s office said. “The 232 investigations could result in broad-based action to curb steel and aluminum imports from many countries if imports are found to threaten national security. As a result, Schumer is urging that, in addition to swift action on the 232 investigations, the administration take actions to safeguard Upstate New York’s aluminum and steel industries’ long-term competitiveness by prioritizing concessions to eliminate steel and aluminum subsides from China, defending U.S. trade enforcement laws at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and challenging China’s aluminum subsides at the WTO.”