All about the the Steel Tariff

A tariff is a tax on imports or exports on a certain good. The US is the largest steel importer in the world. That does not mean we do not produce steel. Since 2009, apparent consumption (a measure of steel demand) has outpaced production in the US. The United States has had a trade deficit in steel products for over a decade.

If the goal of the Federal Government is to become less dependent on foreign steel a tariff will promote this event. As the price of steel increases for foreign produced steel, a U.S. steel manufacturer unburdened by a tariff will find it advantageous to increase production. They can sell more steel at a higher price. Thus, the U.S. will depend less on foreign produced steel. More production will create more jobs (bad ones).

Why are these jobs bad? Here's one reason:

Nearly all production workers in iron and steel foundries are exposed to silica dust and other mineral constituents of foundry sand (IARC, 1984). .... Nearly all of these show a significantly increased risk for lung cancer, either in the entire cohort or in high-exposed subgroups.

Who exports the most steel to the U.S. (who will it hurt the most)? 87% of Canada's steel exports are sent to the U.S. and 73% of Mexico's steel exports are sent to the U.S. These two countries will be getting hit hard.

Please comment, discuss, and debate.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304429/
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/tariff-trade-barrier-basics.asp
https://www.investopedia.com/exam-guide/cfa-level-1/global-economic-analysis/tariffs-quotas.asp
https://www.trade.gov/steel/countries/pdfs/imports-us.pdf