{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=94d89b1d-0f9c-49aa-b7a1-95bbfa1cae12", "Portman, Brown, Latta & Jordan Urge Assistance for Cooper Tire in Face of Alarming Chinese Factory Actions", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Rob Portman", "P000449", "www.portman.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), along with Congressmen Bob Latta (R-OH-5) and Jim Jordan (R-OH-4), sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Mike Froman urging government officials to do all that they can to protect the interests of Findlay-based Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. in China.\u00a0 The letter comes ahead of important meetings of the U.S.-China Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Beijing on December 19-20 chaired by Pritzker, Froman and their Chinese counterparts.\r\nSome excerpts of the letter appear below:\r\n\u201cWe write today with deep concern about a serious issue Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is facing at its joint venture in China which has put the entire company at risk, including more than 5,000 jobs in the United States, and which has serious implications for all American businesses with interests and investments in China. We respectfully request your assistance in resolving this urgent matter.\u201d\r\n\u201cCooper has been facing a series of actions in violation of its rights as the majority owner of the joint venture\u2026These actions have included, initially, two 5,000-employee work stoppages and, subsequently, labor actions including forced occupation of the CCT production facility; denial of access for Cooper and its appointed members of CCT management to the facility, financial data, and personal property; workers\u2019 refusal to input financial and production data into CCT systems in accordance with internal operating procedure; workers\u2019 refusal to produce Cooper-branded products; and the unlawful appropriation of company chops and registration documents.\u201d\r\n\"In response to these actions, Cooper has requested assistance from Chinese government authorities at all levels, has appealed to local police, and has attempted to seek justice in local courts of law, but the situation continues. Cooper management has made multiple attempts to ... reach a resolution. ... At this point, the situation remains unresolved and Cooper has suffered considerable losses.\"\r\nBackground\r\nSince June 2013, one of Cooper\u2019s international factories in Shandong Province, China has faced constant work stoppages and other actions threatening the whole company.\u00a0 Cooper operates the facility as a joint venture with a Chinese partner.\r\nEfforts to resolve this issue have been unsuccessful and the consequences continue to worsen. The production process has not been restored to its previous state, and Cooper has suffered considerable losses. One of the most critical issues that Cooper currently faces is that it is being denied access to the joint venture\u2019s financial and operational information. Without this information, Cooper is unable to file its financial report for Q3 2013 as required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This has forced Cooper to be in violation of its U.S. and global regulatory obligations, which could potentially have broad impacts on its U.S. operations and its 5,000 U.S. workers.\r\nToday\u2019s letter follows a conference call led by Portman and Brown\u2019s staff on Monday with Administration officials to urge that this issue be raised during the JCCT meetings in Beijing.\u00a0 Aside from Portman, Brown, Latta and Jordan, the letter was also signed by Senators Boozman (R-Ark.), Cochran (R-Miss.), Pryor (D-Ark.) and Wicker (R-Miss.); and Representatives Cotton (R-Ark.) and Nunnelee (R-Miss.).", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=94d89b1d-0f9c-49aa-b7a1-95bbfa1cae12"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3903160579502583, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}