Impact of tariffs debated locally
In the face of opposition from members of his own party, President Donald Trump made good on his pledge to impose tariffs on imports of foreign steel and aluminum by signing two executive orders on Thursday.
One executive order places a tax of 25-percent on steel imports and the other puts a 10-percent tax on aluminum imports.
These tariffs could be a boon to steelworkers in Pennsylvania, such as employees at the ArcelorMittal steel plants in Coatesville and Conshohocken. And they could benefit metal workers in other states as well. However, critics have argued the tariffs may trigger a global trade war which could hurt American workers in other job sectors and force American consumers to pay higher prices for various goods.
Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have criticized Trump’s plan to implement the tariffs, and had urged him to reconsider.
On Wednesday, 107 congressional Republicans sent a letter to Trump expressing “deep con-
cern” about the tariffs and urging him to “reconsider the idea of broad tariffs to avoid unintended negative consequences to the U.S. economy and its workers.”
Several Republican congressmen from Pennsylvania signed the letter, including: Pat Meehan, R-7th Dist., Charlie Dent, R-15th Dist., and Scott Perry, R4th Dist.
However, the tariffs have drawn praise from Democratic senators who represent “Rust Belt” states, including Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Pennsylvania’s own Bob Casey.
“When foreign countries cheat on trade, Pennsylvania workers lose their jobs,” Casey said in a statement released Thursday evening. “I commend the (Trump) administration for taking action. I also urge the administration to use the next 15 days, until these trade remedies take effect, to improve and refine this order. Specifically, the administration
should consider additional action on downstream products, like transformer cores, without which foreign producers could undermine domestic production of electrical steel and put Pennsylvania jobs at risk.
“We must go after China and other trade cheaters, with our allies, the only way they’ll understand — head on. Workers across Pennsylvania know what unfair trade has brought — job losses and stagnant wages.
“When the playing field is level, Pennsylvania workers can out-compete any workers in the world. It’s vital to hold countries that cheat on trade accountable in order to protect Pennsylvanians’ jobs and a good standard of living.”
Pennsylvania’s other senator, Republican Pat Toomey, has been more critical of the tariffs, and warned they may do more harm than good.
“The vast majority of the steel Americans consume is domestically produced, which is the way I prefer it,” Toomey said in a statement released last week. “If a country is engaging in illegal trade practices, such as dumping steel or illegally subsidizing it, we should use existing tools in federal law to address these actions — and we have been doing so. That approach is reasonable and has been successful. The U.S. only imports two percent of its steel from China.
“Changing course from this approach by invoking national security as a means of imposing new, huge tariffs on all kinds of imported steel is a big mistake that will increase costs on American consumers, cost our country jobs,
and invite retaliation from other countries.”
U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R6th Dist., is also wary of potential repercussions to the tariffs on steel and aluminum.
“Rep. Costello has serious concerns about the new tariffs, as consumers, workers, and businesses could face adverse impacts of this policy through increased costs and lost jobs,” Natalie McLaughlin, spokesperson for Costello said in a statement Thursday. “While he was pleased to see exemptions for two of our country’s allies, Rep. Costello believes retaliatory measures could be taken that will cause great harm to our manufacturing industry, which employs thousands of Pennsylvanians in the Sixth District. He continues to share this perspective with the appropriate stakeholders, and continues to monitor the implementation process and encourage additional exceptions.”
In response to Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, European Union officials have raised the possibility of placing new tariffs on goods produced in the
U.S. Some of these American products which may be targeted by the EU include: cheese, bourbon, peanut butter, orange juice, cranberries, Harley Davidson motorcycles, Caterpillar excavators, and Boeing jets.
Despite talk of an impending trade war, unions and employers of American metal workers have voiced support for the steel and aluminum tariffs.
United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard said in a statement last week that the tariff levels Trump had announced would help achieve the objectives of restoring “market-based economics that ensure that our domestic producers can achieve a fair return as they invest in facilities, equipment and people, and contribute to the strength of our nation” and reducing the “negative impact of steel and aluminum imports that have decimated production in the United States.”
Vonie Long, president of USW Amalgamated Local 1165, and an employee at the ArcelorMittal steel mill in Coatesville, said workers there are optimistic
that tariffs will help things out, and they were glad to finally get a determination on this and then get an announcement from the White House.
“I believe history has shown us that this kind of action does help the domestic steelmaking,” Long said.
USW represents about 580 steelworkers at the steel mill in Coatesville, where they make products such as bridge plate for buildings and alloy for military vehicles, Long said.
The tariffs provide “carve-outs” or exemptions for steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico. Canada is currently the highest exporter of steel and aluminum to the United States. Trump has also indicated he’s willing to be flexible with the tariffs for allies of America, such as Australia. The White House noted “there will be a mechanism for U.S. parties to apply for exclusion of specific products based on demand that is unmet by domestic production or on specific national security considerations,” in a statement on WhiteHouse.gov.