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Cracking Down on Steel Imports: Good or Bad News?

June 20, 2017 - Author: Jamiel Fletcher - Comments are closed

Whether you are a Trump supporter, not a Trump supporter, a Democrat, or a Republican, if you are in the steel industry, Trump’s new act is something that will affect you personally.

Trumpssteel

I’m not going to talk about Trump or his presidency, because everyone has different views, and for the purpose of my blog, I am neutral. However, being an employee of a steel fabrication company has me wondering how Trump’s steel order will affect Palatine Welding personally. For those who don’t know, Trump is attempting to “crack down” on the imports of steel from China to America. In order to do this, he has to prove that importing steel is doing more damage than good. Trump’s argument is that importing steel is killing jobs and hurting steel companies. If he manages to win this argument, his plan is to put tariffs on imported steel, so companies in the US would be better off buying steel from a local steel mill. Now this might seem like a good thing, and that every company will be better off and get cheaper steel, but after doing research, I’m not quite sure that is the case. Some companies that buy the steel directly from the mill will be better off because it will be cheaper opposed to the foreign steel. However, there won’t be nearly as much steel as there was when we were importing steel from China. This will most likely cause a shortage. If companies who buy from the mills don’t have that much steel to begin with, they will most likely raise the price of their steel to be able to keep up with their sales. Then, companies lower down on the chain, like Palatine Welding, will have increased prices for steel. With this being said, I’m not quite sure how I feel about Trump’s steel order. Yes, in the long run it could help the steel industry prosper and create more job opportunities for those who need it. However, there will be a big change in the steel industry for a time. Whether it is brief or drawn out, a shortage would be rough for a smaller company like Palatine Welding. Either way, there are both positives and negatives that will have to be dealt with, so I guess it’s just a matter of time until we know which ones.

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