Steel Trade deficit with China

A 25 percent tariff on imports led to a temporary spike in steel prices last year but also hurt sales and profits at companies that buy steel, such as General Motors. And as manufacturers substituted other materials or cut production, steel prices have fallen back to where they were before the tariffs and stock prices for the largest U.S. producers fell by as much as 47 percent, the New York Times reported Monday. While Trump rightly notes that some companies have announced plans to either build new steel mills or refurbish existing ones, his most frequent and extravagant boast — that “U.S. Steel just announced that they’re building six new steel mills” — has no basis in fact.

Industry experts point out that employment in the steel industry will almost certainly continue to decline as a consequence of automation, even if production and profits increase. As the conservative think tank AEI points out, “Mr. Trump’s tariffs are trying to revive a world of steel production that no longer exists. He is taxing steel-consuming industries that employ 6.5 million and have the potential to grow more jobs to help a declining industry that employs only 140,000.”

Perhaps this explains why Trump has warmed to the idea of constructing a border wall on the U.S. border with Mexico out of steel rather than concrete. In an interview with NPR, Tom Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute estimated that the barrier would require a hefty order of 3 million tons of steel.

Source: www.news.yahoo.com

Pre: Korea dongguo steel lowered the benchmark h-beam price

Next: Why Did US Steel’s Stock Price Decline By 50% In 2018