Where's herdman in this thread? I think he and I are the only two people on this board that realize how strategically important steel production is for our nation.
Read deeper into the article than dherd's copy and paste, and you start to see where priorities lie...
The layoffs have stunned these steelworkers who, just a year ago, greeted President Trump’s election as a new dawn for their industry. Mr. Trump pledged to build roads and bridges, strengthen “Buy America” provisions, protect factories from unfair imports and revive industry, especially steel.
But after a year in office, Mr. Trump has not enacted these policies. And when it comes to steel, his failure to follow through on a promise has had unintended consequences.
Foreign steel makers have rushed to get their product into the United States before tariffs start. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, which tracks shipments, steel imports were 19.4 percent higher in the first 10 months of 2017 than in the same period last year.
That surge of imports has hurt American steel makers, which were already struggling against a glut of cheap Chinese steel. When ArcelorMittal announced the layoffs in Conshohocken, it blamed those imports, as well as low demand for steel for bridges and military equipment.
The plant’s specialty is ultrastrong, military-grade steel...
Reforming trade was one of the president’s signature campaign promises, and in his first months in office, Mr. Trump issued dozens of executive actions. One pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-country trade pact. Others ordered investigations into imports or renegotiations of trade pacts.
Uncertainty about how these measures will reshape trade rules is now weighing on many industries. Companies are waiting to invest, or finding additional suppliers outside the United States, executives in agriculture, automobiles, solar energy and information technology have said.
In April, the president ordered parallel investigations into imports of steel and aluminum under the little-used Section 232 of a 1962 trade law, which permits sweeping restrictions to protect national security.
Earlier this year, tariffs seemed imminent. Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, said in late May that he expected to conclude the steel investigation by the end of June.
And in early June, Mr. Trump told a crowd in Cincinnati, “Wait till you see what I’m going to do for steel and your steel companies,” vowing that he would “stop the dumping” of products at superlow prices by other nations.
“We’ll be seeing that very soon. The steel folks are going to be very happy,” he said.
But the announcement never came.
That appears to be caused partly by internal divisions within the White House. Some officials, like Mr. Ross — a former steel executive who was on ArcelorMittal’s board until he was confirmed in February — wanted to push ahead with tariffs. But others, including economic and national security advisers, worried about repercussions, trade advisers say.
The tariffs had plenty of opponents. Automakers, food processors and companies in other industries that use steel and aluminum in their products complained that tariffs would drive up costs and make them less competitive, ultimately sacrificing more American jobs than they would save. Steel exporters, like the European Union, threatened retaliation. Prominent economists highlighted the risk of a trade war.
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Corporations today only care about one thing: maximizing profit. American corporations give not one shit about national strategic position. Many national security "experts" are nothing but shills for globalism and corporations, and have fallen to the mistaken belief that trade solves everything and makes the world peaceful. That is as big a fairy tale as bleeding hearts thinking love will make the world peaceful. Trade unites nations that have common goals. China and the USA do NOT have common goals. Trade unites nations that have similar culture and moral moorings. China and the USA do NOT share such common traits. China gladly sacrifices the health and lives of its citizens to gain competitive and strategic advantages, and has done so to weaken the strategic position of the USA and Europe. China is playing a long game to dominate half of the globe. We are playing a short game to enrich the few.
Changes in trade policy to strengthen our position will require temporary pain. Trade war is a risk that must be taken for long-term benefit. The USA must convince Europe that we are one team strategically. While much of the economic future lies in technology, technology alone does not build infrastructure and war capability. Steel does. The USA is the top net importer of steel in the world, China is by far the top steel producer in the world. The USA and Europe should come to agreement that when it comes to steel we should isolate China from our markets. Trade with each other as we have common goals and culture. War with China WILL come, maybe not in our lifetime but we must be prepared for it. Be it economic war in which they cut off the supply of steel or actual all out war our collision course is set by our differences. Read some Samuel P Huntington. China is not building islands in the sea for beach resorts.
And American automakers can kiss my ass. We have bent over backwards to give them everything they want, especially cheap Mexican labor. Time for them to take one for the team.
