Steel

steelmakers have benefited since the Trump administration began imposing 25 percent tariffs on imported steel in March of last year, largely because they were able to raise domestic steel prices. Other countries said the taxes break global trade rules, and some have imposed tariffs of their own.

Last year, shipments from U.S. steel producers increased 5 percent, and steel imports are down 37 percent since the tariffs took effect, said Lisa Harrison, spokeswoman for the American Iron and Steel Institute, a trade association. She attributed the changes to the tariffs as well as regulatory reform and a favorable economy.

But higher prices have hurt the bottom lines of steel industry customers. General Motors, for instance, said last week that steel and aluminum price increases due largely to the tariffs raised the prices of those commodities, costing the company more than $1 billion last year. GM expects another $1 billion increase this year.

U.S. Steel’s revenue rose 19 percent last year compared with a year earlier, and it swung from a loss to a net profit of $387 million.