The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Stephen E. Sandherr, said in a statement today that the Section 232 tariffs announced this week will cause “significant harm” to the US construction industry, including approximately 30,000 lost construction jobs due to dampened demand for new construction projects.
“The newly-imposed tariffs will lead to increases in what construction firms are forced to pay for the many steel and aluminum products that go into a typical construction project,” Sandherr said, which will undermine any proposed infrastructure bill.
“Firms that are already engaged in fixed-price contracts may be forced to absorb these costs, forcing them to cut back on new investments in equipment and personnel,” Sandherr continued. “Higher steel and aluminum prices will make the kind of infrastructure work President Trump supports more expensive, forcing federal, state and local officials to cut back on projects they can fund. And the likely trade war these new tariffs prompt will diminish demand for private investment in infrastructure as well as construction demand for manufacturing, shipping and distribution facilities.”
In summary, Sandherr said that “any short-term gains for the domestic steel and aluminum industries will likely be offset by the lower demand that will come for their products as our economy suffers the impacts of these new tariffs and the trade war they encourage.”
Sandherr said a better way to cultivate a stronger domestic steel and aluminum industry would be to increase federal funding for infrastructure projects that will boost demand for steel and aluminum.