Auto suppliers headed to Washington to tell tales of steel woes

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Sept. 5)—The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, is hosting a "fly-in" Oct. 1 to Washington, D.C. so the automotive suppliers it represents can complain about steel tariffs. The MEMA members will tell members of Congress and the Bush administration about the hardships they are encountering because of the Bush administration's steel safeguard program and its resulting tariffs. The group already has commitments from numerous supplier executives, including CEOs, vice presidents of purchasing, chief financial officers and government affairs directors, said Ana Lopes, director of government relations for MEMA. "Our members are facing possible layoffs and plant shutdowns or perhaps the scenario of moving production overseas," she said. "At stake are 2.2 million jobs in the U.S., and these are jobs we don't want to lose."