The largest soda ash producer in the world credited U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis on Thursday with averting India’s proposed tariff on the product.
India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies last autumn recommended “anti-dumping duties,” which are tariffs, on soda ash imports from Turkey, Russia, the US and Iran ranging from about $79 to $113 per metric ton.
Wyoming’s junior Republican U.S. Senator, Lummis, contacted the U.S. ambassador to India and explained how the tariffs would hurt Wyoming trona producers especially WE Soda, the world’s largest soda ash maker operating in southwestern Wyoming, according to Craig Rood, WE Soda’s U.S. director of government affairs.
Open Letter
It also would have helped China, according to an open letter to Lummis that WE Soda released Friday.
Trona is the parent mineral of soda ash, which in turn yields products like baking soda and glass.
The ambassador assigned staffers in both countries to help, and the U.S. State Department agreed to urge the India Ministry of Finance not to adopt the tariff, Rood said, adding that ambassador later learned India’s government decided against the action.
"On behalf of the over 900 men and women who work for WE Soda in southwestern Wyoming, I would like to thank you for your prompt and effective action in keeping a major market open to Wyoming soda ash," CEO Oguz Erkan said in the letter.
“The recent news that the Government of India decided not to proceed was met with relief and great appreciation for your efforts to maintain jobs, stability, and global competitiveness,” reads the company’s letter. “It is hard to overstate the importance of this win for Wyoming. We are grateful for your leadership and continued support of the trona industry.”
Lummis' Involvement
Lummis’ office confirmed that she intervened and alerted the state department.
“Senator Lummis has long been a strong advocate and fighter for Wyoming’s soda ash industry,” says a Friday email from Lummis’ Senior Communications Advisor Joe Jackson.
“She was pleased to work directly with the Trump administration to elevate this issue and work to stop a policy that would have hurt Wyoming workers and benefited Chinese soda ash. She will continue fighting to protect Wyoming industries.”
"Tremendous Champion"
The Wyoming Mining Association lists five trona companies in the Cowboy State, four with Green River addresses.
One is a startup, while four of those are operating in the state — all in the Green River area — WMA spokesman Travis Deti confirmed Friday.
“Cynthia Lummis in her time in office has been a tremendous champion of the Wyoming trona industry and Wyoming mining industry in general,” said Deti.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
