FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus060919

In his centerpiece speech on the economy, Donald Trump wrongly accused Hillary Clinton of wanting to increase middle-class taxes and blamed America's crumbling roads and bridges in part on the money spent on refugees, a minuscule expense in comparison with infrastructure.

A look at some of his claims and how they compare with the facts:

TRUMP: The country's infrastructure has suffered "yet we found the money to resettle millions of refugees at taxpayer expense."

THE FACT: You have to go a long way back to get to "millions" of refugees.

Over the last eight years, the period Trump addresses when pointing to failures of President Barack Obama, the U.S. resettled 530,830 refugees. That includes many from the final year of the Bush administration. So far in the budget year that ends Sept. 30, the U.S. has resettled 59,099 refugees. Last year, 69,933. Over the last 15 years: about 850,000.

The State Department puts the cost of the resettlement program to taxpayers at less than $1.2 billion a year. That's roughly 0.03 percent of the federal budget, a rounding error according to most experts. That sum would hardly make up for the infrastructure shortfall. The American Society of Civil Engineers said in a report that the government needs to spend $1.4 trillion through 2025 to close the infrastructure funding gap.

___

TRUMP: "According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before NAFTA went into effect, there were 285,000 auto workers in Michigan. Today, that number is only 160,000."

THE FACTS: Trump is playing fast and loose with the stats. The numbers cited in his speech don't even line up with the footnotes provided by his campaign.

Michigan actually added jobs after the North American Free Trade Agreement began in 1994, when auto plants employed roughly 200,000 workers. Over the next six years, their ranks increased to 231,000. The decline only occurred after the tech bubble burst and U.S. automakers lost market share among U.S. consumers, a decline that prompted a government bailout that caused Michigan auto jobs to start rising again in late 2009.

Many U.S. auto jobs also relocated to other states. Foreign automakers such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan built plants in other states, including Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.

An analysis by the liberal Economic Policy Institute shows that auto job growth in Mexico began to sharply accelerate in 2004. One reason why auto production has increased so much in Mexico is its extensive network of international trade agreements in addition to NAFTA, with German luxury carmaker BMW calling the agreements in 2014 a decisive factor for building its first auto plants in Mexico.

___

TRUMP on the unemployment rate: "This 5 percent figure is one of the biggest hoaxes in modern American politics."

THE FACTS: The unemployment rate has its shortcomings but it is not a "hoax."

The unemployment rate has become controversial since the recession ended because many people have stopped looking for work, and the government doesn't count those out of work unless they are actively searching for jobs. If an unemployed person gives up on a job hunt, that reduces the unemployment rate without anyone being hired, so it has overstated the improvement in the job market.

Still, a broader measure of unemployment that includes people who have recently stopped looking for jobs has also fallen — from a peak of 17.4 percent in 2010 to 9.7 percent now.

The proportion of Americans working or looking for work is now 62.8 percent, near the lowest level since the 1970s. That's down from 66 percent before the recession. At least half that decline in the workforce stems from greater retirements, as baby boomers age.

Many of the figures Trump cited in his speech are compiled by the same monthly survey that produces the unemployment figure he considers a hoax.

Detroit - 8 August 2016

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presidential Nominee:

"Our roads and bridges fell into disrepair, yet we found the money to resettle millions of refugees at taxpayer expense."

Washington - 8 August 2016

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"Trump said that the United States has resettled millions of refugees. At the same time, he complained about our infrastructure and said we haven't spent as much on that as we could, and the two things don't necessarily match. In the past 15 years, we resettled maybe about 850,000 refugees. So, the idea that we've resettled millions isn't accurate."

++WHITE FLASH++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"And the cost of resettling those people is about 1.2 billion, which most people would consider a rounding error in the federal budget of over three trillion a year. So, it's really unlikely that our infrastructure spending has suffered because of resettling refugees."

Detroit - 8 August 2016

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presidential Nominee:

"The five percent figure is one of the biggest hoaxes in American modern politics."

Washington - 8 August 2016

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"Donald Trump said the unemployment rate is a hoax, which is definitely an overstatement. It has its shortcomings, but it's a number presidents have cited for decades. It's been collected pretty much the same way by the Census Bureau and Labor Department since World War II. It has become controversial in recent years because many people have stopped looking for work even if they were unemployed. So when an unemployed person stops job-hunting, they're no longer accounted as unemployed and that does help sort of artificially lower the unemployment rate. But at the same time, over 14 million Americans have gotten jobs since 2010, so the rate has also gone down for that reason."

Detroit - 8 August 2016

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presidential Nominee:

"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before NAFTA went into effect, there were 285,000 auto workers in Michigan. Today, that number is only 160,000."

Washington - 8 August 2016

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"Well, Donald Trump is blaming the North American Free Trade Agreement for hitting auto jobs in Michigan. In fact, the number of auto jobs increased in Michigan after NAFTA went into effect. Some of those jobs have certainly since then been lost, but many of the jobs, auto jobs, in Michigan have gone to other US states, such as Ohio, Indiana, and even some southern states such as Tennessee."

In his centerpiece speech on the economy, Donald Trump wrongly accused Hillary Clinton of wanting to increase middle-class taxes and blamed America's crumbling roads and bridges in part on the money spent on refugees, a minuscule expense in comparison with infrastructure.

A look at some of his claims and how they compare with the facts:

TRUMP: "She said she wanted to raise taxes on the middle class."

THE FACTS: If Clinton said that — and it's highly debatable — it's clear she didn't mean to. Her economic agenda calls for middle-class tax cuts (which are not specified) and she has repeatedly said she would not raise taxes on middle incomes. In a speech in Omaha, Nebraska, last week, she talked about "fairer rules for the middle class" and delivered a line that was difficult to understand, either "we are going to raise taxes on the middle class" or "we aren't."

If she said the former, it was obviously a flub. Her policy on middle-class taxes has been consistent — no increases.

___

TRUMP: The country's infrastructure has suffered "yet we found the money to resettle millions of refugees at taxpayer expense."

THE FACT: You have to go a long way back to get to "millions" of refugees.

Over the last eight years, the period Trump addresses when pointing to failures of President Barack Obama, the U.S. resettled 530,830 refugees. That includes many from the final year of the Bush administration. So far in the budget year that ends Sept. 30, the U.S. has resettled 59,099 refugees. Last year, 69,933. Over the last 15 years: about 850,000.

The State Department puts the cost of the resettlement program to taxpayers at less than $1.2 billion a year. That's roughly 0.03 percent of the federal budget, a rounding error according to most experts. That sum would hardly make up for the infrastructure shortfall. The American Society of Civil Engineers said in a report that the government needs to spend $1.4 trillion through 2025 to close the infrastructure funding gap.

___

TRUMP: "According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before NAFTA went into effect, there were 285,000 auto workers in Michigan. Today, that number is only 160,000."

THE FACTS: Trump is playing fast and loose with the stats. The numbers cited in his speech don't even line up with the footnotes provided by his campaign.

Michigan actually added jobs after the North American Free Trade Agreement began in 1994, when auto plants employed roughly 200,000 workers. Over the next six years, their ranks increased to 231,000. The decline only occurred after the tech bubble burst and U.S. automakers lost market share among U.S. consumers, a decline that prompted a government bailout that caused Michigan auto jobs to start rising again in late 2009.

Many U.S. auto jobs also relocated to other states. Foreign automakers such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan built plants in other states, including Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.

An analysis by the liberal Economic Policy Institute shows that auto job growth in Mexico began to sharply accelerate in 2004. One reason why auto production has increased so much in Mexico is its extensive network of international trade agreements in addition to NAFTA, with German luxury carmaker BMW calling the agreements in 2014 a decisive factor for building its first auto plants in Mexico.

___

TRUMP on the unemployment rate: "This 5 percent figure is one of the biggest hoaxes in modern American politics."

THE FACTS: The unemployment rate has its shortcomings but it is not a "hoax."

The unemployment rate has become controversial since the recession ended because many people have stopped looking for work, and the government doesn't count those out of work unless they are actively searching for jobs. If an unemployed person gives up on a job hunt, that reduces the unemployment rate without anyone being hired, so it has overstated the improvement in the job market.

Still, a broader measure of unemployment that includes people who have recently stopped looking for jobs has also fallen — from a peak of 17.4 percent in 2010 to 9.7 percent now.

The proportion of Americans working or looking for work is now 62.8 percent, near the lowest level since the 1970s. That's down from 66 percent before the recession. At least half that decline in the workforce stems from greater retirements, as baby boomers age.

Many of the figures Trump cited in his speech are compiled by the same monthly survey that produces the unemployment figure he considers a hoax.

AP TELEVISION

Detroit - 8 August 2016

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presidential Nominee:

"Hillary Clinton short-circuited again, to use a now famous term, when she accidentally told the truth and said that she wanted to raise taxes on the middle class."

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 8 August 2016

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"Hillary Clinton may have said she would raise taxes on the middle class in a recent speech but it was seen by most people as a flub, a simple misstatement. She's repeatedly said in other parts of the campaign that she would not raise taxes on the middle class. She's talked about cutting taxes for the middle class, although she hasn't really detailed that. But it seems unlikely that she meant to say that she would raise taxes on the middle class. So it seems like Trump is sort of taking advantage of a flub or a little gaffe."

POOL

Omaha, Nebraska - 1 August 2016

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, (D) Presidential Nominee:

"We're not going there my friends. I'm telling you right now, we're going to write fairer rules for the middle class and we aren't going to raise taxes on the middle class."

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 8 August 2016

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"Trump said that the United States has resettled millions of refugees. At the same time, he complained about our infrastructure and said we haven't spent as much on that as we could, and the two things don't necessarily match. In the past 15 years, we resettled maybe about 850,000 refugees. So, the idea that we've resettled millions isn't accurate."

AP TELEVISION

Detroit - 8 August 2016

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presidential Nominee:

"Our roads and bridges fell into disrepair, yet we found the money to resettle millions of refugees at tax payer expense."

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 8 August 2016

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"And the cost of resettling those people is about 1.2 billion, which most people would consider a rounding error in the federal budget of over three trillion a year. So, it's really unlikely that our infrastructure spending has suffered because of resettling refugees."

AP TELEVISION

Detroit - 8 August 2016

7. Trump on stage as crowd applauds

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 8 August 2016

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"Donald Trump said the unemployment rate is a hoax, which is definitely an overstatement. It has its shortcomings, but it's a number presidents have cited for decades. It's been collected pretty much the same way by the Census Bureau and Labor Department since World War II. It has become controversial in recent years because many people have stopped looking for work even if they were unemployed. So when an unemployed person stops job-hunting, they're no longer accounted as unemployed and that does help sort of artificially lower the unemployment rate. But at the same time, over 14 million Americans have gotten jobs since 2010, so the rate has also gone down for that reason."

AP TELEVISION

Detroit - 8 August 2016

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presidential Nominee:

"The five percent figure is one of the biggest hoaxes in American modern politics."

AP TELEVISION

Washington - 8 August 2016

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Christ Rugaber, AP Economics Writer:

"Well, Donald Trump is blaming the North American Free Trade Agreement for hitting auto jobs in Michigan. In fact, the number of auto jobs increased in Michigan after NAFTA went into effect. Some of those jobs have certainly since then been lost, but many of the jobs, auto jobs, in Michigan have gone to other US states, such as Ohio, Indiana, and even some southern states such as Tennessee."

AP TELEVISION

Detroit - 8 August 2016

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, (R) Presidential Nominee:

"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before NAFTA went into effect, there were 285,000 auto workers in Michigan. Today, that number is only 160,000."

12. Trump walking off stage after speaking

US President Donald Trump is serving up counterprogramming to his impeachment trial on Thursday by promoting his new trade deal and rallying supporters in two Midwestern states that he views as crucial to his re-election.

Trump addressed workers at a manufacturing plant in Michigan to celebrate the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico that he signed into law a day earlier. From there, he was headed to Iowa for a campaign rally in Des Moines ahead of Monday's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

During his visit to Dana Industries in Warren, Michigan, one of the largest U.S.-based suppliers to vehicle manufacturers, Trump told workers his administration is bringing jobs back to the U.S. and Michigan.

"The USMCA is the fairest, most balanced trade agreement we've ever signed into law," Trump said. "We're bringing your jobs back to America. Jobs are coming back and they're coming back fast and they're coming right here to Michigan."

The White House says that the trade deal — the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement — will lead to 76,000 new jobs for the U.S. auto industry alone, and he boasted of big improvements in manufacturing under his watch.

"For decades, politicians, they campaigned all across Michigan promising to do something about NAFTA — and I call it the NAFTA disaster — only to get elected and do absolutely nothing," Trump said of the Democrats.

He added: "I just want to say I kept my promise, and not only my promise in loving the people of Michigan and all over the country, but my promise of taking care of it so that other countries aren't ripping us off."

Trump couldn't hide his anger over the impeachment trial, expected to wrap up within days. Rattling off a list of legislative accomplishments, Trump said, "What do they do? They impeach you."

POOL

Warren, Michigan - 30 January 2020

1. Wide of US President Donald Trump walks into rally, zoom in

++BLACK BETWEEN SHOTS++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"I will say that we just ended a nightmare known as NAFTA. They took our, they took our jobs for a long time. They took it for a long time and we now have a brand new U.S. Mexico Canada agreement. It's a whole different ball game and it's going to be great for this plant. It's going to be incredible for Michigan and for every place else in our country. The USMCA is the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It's the best agreement we've ever made and we have others coming. And by the way, the China deal two weeks ago was just signed and that's going to bring two hundred and fifty billion dollars into our country. (applause) One after another. But we're bringing your jobs back to America. Jobs are coming back and they're coming back fast and they're coming right here to Michigan. They are coming rapidly. You see what's going on."

3. Cutaway of plant workers in crowd

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"For decades, politicians, they campaigned all across Michigan promising to do something about NAFTA. And I call it the NAFTA disaster, only to get elected and do absolutely nothing. They'd take your vote. And then they go to Washington and whether it was two years or four years, they'd go to Washington and they'd look at the beautiful columns and they'd become intimidated by the marble and the beauty and the power and they wouldn't even want to come back. And I came back. Because we have a lot to do. We're going to get a lot more car companies moving in. We have a lot more companies moving in. We're producing jobs like you have never seen before in this country. We're producing jobs like you have never seen before. So I just want to say that I've kept my promise and not only my promise in loving the people of Michigan and all over the country, but my promise of taking care of it so that other countries aren't ripping us off. They were ripping us off. You wouldn't believe what was happening, I guess you would."

5. Cutaway of workers in crowd

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"We won 196 to nothing on a little vote a couple of weeks ago. You know, you do all these great deals. Everybody says, thank you, sir, this has never happened. Everybody said it's impossible to do, it'll never, never take place, trade deals like this. And then we've built our military, we've cut taxes, we've taken care of regulations, cut more than any other president in the history of our country. And we did that in three years instead of eight years or in one case four. And we protect our Second Amendment, we protect our second amendment. So we've done all these things and remember the tax cut was the biggest tax cut in the history of our country. And what do they do? They impeach you. Explain, explain that one. But we have great Republicans out there and they don't like it any better than you do. Very partisan situation, a disgrace. It's frankly a disgrace to our country. But there has been, no administration has done what we've done in the first three years of an administration. No administration. And we're very proud of it." (applause)

7. Various of Trump touring manufacturing plant

President Donald Trump is serving up counterprogramming to his impeachment trial on Thursday by promoting his new trade deal and rallying supporters in two Midwestern states that he views as crucial to his reelection.

Trump addressed workers at a manufacturing plant in Michigan to celebrate the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico that he signed into law a day earlier. From there, he was headed to Iowa for a campaign rally in Des Moines ahead of Monday's first-in-the-nation caucuses.

During his visit to Dana Industries in Warren, Michigan, one of the largest U.S.-based suppliers to vehicle manufacturers, Trump told workers his administration is bringing jobs back to the U.S. and Michigan.

"The USMCA is the fairest, most balanced trade agreement we've ever signed into law," Trump said. "We're bringing your jobs back to America. Jobs are coming back and they're coming back fast and they're coming right here to Michigan."

The White House says that the trade deal — the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement — will lead to 76,000 new jobs for the U.S. auto industry alone, and he boasted of big improvements in manufacturing under his watch.

"For decades, politicians, they campaigned all across Michigan promising to do something about NAFTA — and I call it the NAFTA disaster — only to get elected and do absolutely nothing," Trump said of the Democrats.

He added: "I just want to say I kept my promise, and not only my promise in loving the people of Michigan and all over the country, but my promise of taking care of it so that other countries aren't ripping us off."

Trump couldn't hide his anger over the impeachment trial, expected to wrap up within days. Rattling off a list of legislative accomplishments, Trump said, "What do they do? They impeach you."

POOL

Warren, Michigan - 30 January 2020

1. Wide shot of President Donald Trump walks into rally, push in

++BLACK BETWEEN SHOTS++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"I will say that we just ended a nightmare known as NAFTA. They took our, they took our jobs for a long time. They took it for a long time and we now have a brand new U.S. Mexico Canada agreement. It's a whole different ball game and it's going to be great for this plant. It's going to be incredible for Michigan and for every place else in our country. The USMCA is the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It's the best agreement we've ever made and we have others coming. And by the way, the China deal two weeks ago was just signed and that's going to bring two hundred and fifty billion dollars into our country. (applause) One after another. But we're bringing your jobs back to America. Jobs are coming back and they're coming back fast and they're coming right here to Michigan. They are coming rapidly. You see what's going on."

3. Cutaway of plant workers in crowd

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"For decades, politicians, they campaigned all across Michigan promising to do something about NAFTA. And I call it the NAFTA disaster, only to get elected and do absolutely nothing. They'd take your vote. And then they go to Washington and whether it was two years or four years, they'd go to Washington and they'd look at the beautiful columns and they'd become intimidated by the marble and the beauty and the power and they wouldn't even want to come back. And I came back. Because we have a lot to do. We're going to get a lot more car companies moving in. We have a lot more companies moving in. We're producing jobs like you have never seen before in this country. We're producing jobs like you have never seen before. So I just want to say that I've kept my promise and not only my promise in loving the people of Michigan and all over the country, but my promise of taking care of it so that other countries aren't ripping us off. They were ripping us off. You wouldn't believe what was happening, I guess you would."

5. Cutaway of workers in crowd

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"We won 196 to nothing on a little vote a couple of weeks ago. You know, you do all these great deals. Everybody says, thank you, sir, this has never happened. Everybody said it's impossible to do, it'll never, never take place, trade deals like this. And then we've built our military, we've cut taxes, we've taken care of regulations, cut more than any other president in the history of our country. And we did that in three years instead of eight years or in one case four. And we protect our Second Amendment, we protect our second amendment. So we've done all these things and remember the tax cut was the biggest tax cut in the history of our country. And what do they do? They impeach you. Explain, explain that one. But we have great Republicans out there and they don't like it any better than you do. Very partisan situation, a disgrace. It's frankly a disgrace to our country. But there has been, no administration has done what we've done in the first three years of an administration. No administration. And we're very proud of it." (applause)

7. Shots of Donald Trump taking tour of manufacturing plant

Steel companies in the US are worried that President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium will ultimately affect American workers.

Joel Johnson examines the shipping labels on 35-ton coils of American-made steel that will be unspooled, bent and welded into rounded sections of pipe.

One's from Nucor, a mill in Arkansas. Another's from Steel Dynamics in Mississippi. But much harder to spot in the sprawling factory yard is the imported steel that's put his company in the crosshairs of Trump's bitter trade dispute with America's allies and adversaries.

Trump says his tariffs on steel, aluminum and other goods will put US companies and workers on stronger footing by winding back the clock of globalisation with protectionist trade policies.

But the steel tariff — essentially a 25 percent tax — may backfire on the very people the president is aiming to help.

The Commerce Department has been deluged with requests from 20,000 companies seeking exemptions.

Johnson is the CEO of Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US, a company with Turkish roots that manufactures the welded pipe used by energy companies to pull oil and natural gas out of the earth.

He has been fighting an uphill battle to get a two-year exemption from Trump's tariff on steel imports.

Without a waiver, Johnson said, Borusan faces levies of up to 30 million US dollars a year — a staggering sum for a business with plans to expand.

"We don't have any proof we're being heard," Johnson said.

Eighty miles southwest, in Bay City, global steel giant Tenaris also is seeking an exemption from the tariffs. The company churns out steel pipe in a 1.8 billion US dollar state-of-the-art facility that began operating late last year, using solid rods of steel called billets that are made in its mills in Mexico, Romania, Italy and Argentina.

Of the four, only Argentina has agreed to limit steel shipments to the US in exchange for being spared the tariff.

"The decision is out of our hands," said Luca Zanotti, president of Tenaris's US operations, while expressing confidence its request would be approved. If it's not? "We'll adapt," he said.

Steelworkers, meanwhile, are cheering the tariff even as they remain sceptical of Trump's pledge to empower blue-collar Americans.

They also worry about the possibility of too many exemptions.

"You put these tariffs (in place) but now you're going to exclude everybody so they're kind of pointless," said Durwin Royal, president of United Steelworkers' Local 4134 in Lone Star, Texas.

The diverse views illustrate the complexity, confusion and concern lurking behind Trump's "America First" pledge.

Pipe mills are numerous in Texas, which leads the country in oil and natural gas production.

Factories that use imported steel typically do so when they can't get the exact type or quantity they need from US producers.

Many of them are among the thousands of companies that have filed exclusion requests to avoid being hit by the steel tariff.

Most of them are in the dark, unsure if their applications will be approved as the Commerce Department struggles to process a dramatically higher number of requests than it expected to receive.

A denial may torpedo plans to expand a factory.

Or a company may have to lay off employees.

The stakes are especially high in Texas: economists Joseph Francois and Laura Baughman have estimated the Trump steel tariff and separate 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum will trigger the loss of more than 40,000 jobs.

There's no playbook to guide companies through an exemption process Johnson described as chaotic and unpredictable.

He's hired a lobbyist, former New York Gov. George Pataki.

He's fending off opposition from competitors, including a Tenaris-owned business, who want Borusan's request denied.

On a sweltering afternoon earlier this month, Johnson assembled dozens of his employees in an air-conditioned room for what amounted to a Hail Mary pass.

After lunching on sandwiches from Chick-fil-A, Borusan workers wrote personal messages on oversized postcards to be sent to Trump and other senior officials in Washington and Austin, the Texas capital, pleading for their help in securing the tariff exemption.

"I don't know what motivates politicians besides votes," Johnson said. "That's why we're doing this crazy exercise."

___

UNION BLUE

Royal is in his third term as the president of Local 4134.

He and the local's vice president, Trey Green, are union Democrats in the heart of Trump country.

Lone Star is in Morris County, Texas, where Trump received nearly 70 percent of the vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Royal and Green initially backed independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders before casting their votes for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Their union hall is a mile and a half from the US Steel factory that manufactures welded pipe made from metal produced in the company's mills in Indiana and Illinois.

Like the union, US Steel backed Trump's tariff, declaring that his action would "level the playing field" by blocking other countries from dumping inexpensive steel in the United States. Much of it comes from China.

Although Royal and Green were heartened by the steel tariff, they said they're under no illusion Trump is a friend to organised labour.

Nor are they convinced his tough talk on trade will lead to a rebuilt US steel industry with more and better jobs.

Echoing Sanders, they called for a broader strategy to prevent corporations from sending American jobs to low-wage countries.

"I don't know that putting tariffs on just one or two particular items are going to be the mainstay that helps us in the future," Green said.

Royal and Green said they're still waiting for Trump to follow through on his pledge to empower working-class Americans that he said were "forgotten" by Washington.

___

COST OF DOING BUSINESS

The Tenaris factory is a massive, modern facility just off the highway leading into Bay City, 21 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. About 640 people work here, but only a handful come into direct contact with the 50,000 tons of pipe the 1.2 million-square-foot factory is able to manufacture each month. The process is almost entirely automated, watched over by employees huddled in front of computer screens.

The company manufactures seam-free pipe typically used in offshore energy production or for transporting highly corrosive gas.

Tenaris began construction of the Bay City plant five years ago, long before anyone anticipated an American president would slap a tariff on steel.

Zanotti declined to say how much Tenaris may have to pay, but he downplayed the expense as a cost of doing business on a global scale.

Tenaris operates in 16 countries, including Nigeria, which ranks 145 out of 190 countries on the World Bank's "ease of doing business" index.

"Of course we don't like it," Zanotti said of the tariff.

But, he added, "we're used to dealing with moving parts. This is another moving part."

The company doesn't have a registered lobbyist in Washington, let alone an office. But Tenaris has deep pockets and is in the U.S. for the long haul.

Zanotti said the company has spent 8 billion US dollars over the last decade to expand its foothold in America, a figure he doesn't think the Commerce Department should overlook.

The investment includes the Bay City factory and the acquisition of the Maverick Tube Corporation, based in Houston.

Like Borusan and U.S. Steel, Maverick makes pipe with a welded seam.

"We're positive we're going to get a good conclusion," Zanotti said.

___

LET'S MAKE A DEAL

Johnson said he has a proposition for a president who prides himself on being a master dealmaker.

About 60 percent of Borusan's welded pipe is manufactured with American-made steel. The rest is shipped from Turkey already in tube form; it's heat-treated, threaded and inspected in Baytown.

Johnson is proposing that Borusan be allowed to bring in 135,000 tons of Turkish pipe each year for the next two years, tariff-free.

In return, the company will build a new factory, right next to its existing plant.

That's a 75 million US dollar investment that will allow Borusan to hire 170 new employees, augmenting its existing workforce of 267, according to Johnson.

The expanded capacity also will allow Borusan to wean itself from the Turkish imports.

He said he's gotten no reply to his pitch.

The company brought ex-Gov. Pataki, a Republican, on board in March and has paid him 75,000 US dollars to drum up support in Washington.

But Johnson said he's unsure if Pataki's made a difference.

"We're not politicians. We make pipe," he said. "We felt like that was a move we had to make because we are so far out of our element."

Johnson said he had for weeks unsuccessfully sought support from GOP Rep. Brian Babin, whose district includes Baytown. Babin wrote to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday, expressing his strong support for Borusan's request and urging Ross to give it "your highest consideration."

"Finally," Johnson said.

The Commerce Department has been posting the thousands of requests for tariff exemptions online to allow third parties to offer comments and objections — even competitors who have an interest in seeing a rival's request denied.

Several of them, including U.S. Steel and Tenaris-owned Maverick Tube, objected to Borusan's bid, saying the Turkish pipe it imports is readily available from American suppliers.

They added that Turkey has been cited by the Commerce Department for dumping steel pipe in the U.S.

But Johnson said the objections are aimed at undercutting Borusan.

He said no U.S. pipe mill is serious about selling to him because he'd want very detailed information about their products — such as the composition of the steel and a history of customer complaints.

"They just don't want to see another factory go up here," Johnson said. "They don't want to see a competitor grow."

++SOUNDBITES PARTIALLY COVERED BY VIDEO++

Baytown, Texas – 5 June 2018

1. Various exteriors of steel pipe manufacturer Borusan Mannesmann

2. Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US CEO Joel Johnson speaking to employees, camera tilts down to postcard he's holding

3. Reverse shot of CEO before employees

4. Tight on postcard

5. UPSOUND (English) Joel Johnson, CEO Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US speaking about post card they are sending: "And basically it says 'President Trump, Baytown Texas needs your help."

6. Johnson speaking

7. Various of Borusan employees filling out postcards that will be mailed to president, senators, congressman and governor

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Johnson, CEO of Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US:

"We figure it's somewhere between 25 and 35 million (US) dollars a year, which is a huge increase in our costs."

9. Various of employees filling out postcards

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Kerry Washington, Borusan Mannesmann Employee:  

"If it doesn't work we'll just try something else or try again. You know, I think the main focus is the expansion of getting another factory here."

11. Close of employee filling out post card

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Victor Rodriguez, Borusan Mannesmann Employee:  

"I'm hoping we that can get some sort of exemption from it, so."

13. Johnson leading AP on a factory floor tour

14. Pipe being fabricated

15. Various of pipe being curled and sealed in the fabricator

16. Tracking shot outside in the yard as the finished product awaits shipment, coils brought in from other producers to be made into piping

17. Johnson driving golf cart through inventory yard

18. Various of steel coils ready to be made into pipe

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Johnson, CEO of Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US:

(Johnson speaking through noisy two way radio) "That's the killer is uncertainty. There's enough uncertainly in everything else that we do, let alone just political macro uncertainty."

Bay City, Texas – 6 June 2018

20. Various exteriors of the 1.8 billion US dollar Tenaris USA factory

21. Various of seamless pipe fired up until malleable and stretched to desired length

22. Various of solid steel billets, the precursor to finished pipe, awaiting firing and lengthening

23. Various of finished pipe getting treatment

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Luca Zanotti, Tenaris USA:

"And so we are waiting for that to come to a conclusion and we're positive we're gonna get a good conclusion."

25. Various of Zanotti giving AP tour through Tenaris operations

26. Wide of factory floor, shows automation

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Luca Zanotti, Tenaris USA:

"In the end we'll adapt to what the administration is requiring."

Lone Star, Texas – 4 June 2018

28. Exterior of US Steel Tubular Products factory, includes city limits sign

29. Various of idled part of factory viewable from public road

30. Trey Green and Currel Beatty Jr, United Steelworkers Local 4134 speaking

31. SOUNDBITE (English) Trey Green, Vice President, United Steelworkers Local 4134:  

"If we see something as far as labour from the president we'll count us blessed for it, I just don't know that that's his end game."

32. Various exteriors of US Steel plant

33. Reverse angle of plant viewable from the local reservoir

Washington, DC – 29 June 2018

34. Senate hearing featuring testimony of US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, about tariffs

35. Camera pans toward the table at which Ross is sitting

36. SOUNDBITE (English) Wilbur Ross, US Secretary of Commerce:

"Idled steel and aluminum capacity is being restarted as we sit here, in Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina, Missouri and Kentucky. Several other companies have also announced new investments in these industries in Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri and Texas."

Bay City, Texas – 6 June 2018

37. Various of Tenaris plant, steel billets

Baytown, Texas – 5 June 2018

38. Operations at Borusan plant

Lone Star, Texas – 4 June 2018

39. Wide of Durwin Royal, USW local president during interview

40. SOUNDBITE (English) Durwin Royal, President, United Steelworkers Local 4134:

"That's one of my biggest fears. You put these tariffs, but now you're going to exclude everybody so they're kind of pointless."

Baytown, Texas – 5 June 2018

41. Various of workers filling out postcards

42. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Johnson, CEO of Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US:

"This area needs more jobs and we're promising if we get this two year exemption to immediately start building a factory either on that green grass we got over there or right alongside here."

43. Various of pipe being fired

44. Various of workers on factory floor