AUSTRALIAN STEEL UNION DENIES US TARIFFS TO LEAD TO JOB LOSSES.

AsiaPulse News, March, 2002

MELBOURNE, March 7 Asia Pulse - A major Australian steel union today rejected claims that BHP Billiton Ltd's Port Kembla site would see massive job losses as a result of new United States tariffs.

Australian Workers Union (AWU) BHP steel spokesman Andie Gillespie said the US decision would affect 36 per cent of the 800,000 tonnes of steel exported to the US from Port Kembla, Australia's biggest steel producer near Wollongong in NSW.

BHP's US steel export had an estimated value of $A200 million ($US104.12 million) but was a small percentage of the 5.5 million tonnes the site exported each year, Mr Gillespie said.

"The same amount of labour needed to produce 4.6 (million) or 4.7 (million) or 4.8 million tonnes is needed for 5.5 million," he said....