Inslee, Murray misguided

Gov. Jay Inslee has endangered Washington aluminum manufacturers with his plan to limit emissions, possibly increasing their operating costs. Sen. Patty Murray has added to the problem by supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which allows foreign products to flood our shores. The truth on how aluminum is made in other countries needs to be shared.

The public has reacted with great zeal on other commodities, like diamonds produced in war-torn nations, and shrimp from Asia when connected to the use of people as slaves. It strikes me as disingenuous and hypocritical to allow foreign aluminum to flow into the United States, destroying thousands of American jobs and exacerbating global warming.

Murray and Inslee allow our manufacturing jobs to wither while unjustly produced foreign aluminum fills the market. Shutting down safe and accountable factories by buying foreign commodities that use methods that generate many more times the amount of carbon is wrong.

Inslee’s emissions limits, to be imposed on Washington manufacturers, along with Murray’s support of TPP, will hurt working Americans and subsidize foreign products obtained by human misery, while contributing to fouling our planet. Importing foreign aluminum is no different than buying blood diamonds or shrimp from Thailand.

Ted Cummings

Chattaroy