The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) has said that the recommendations in the US Department of Commerce’s Section 232 report are excessive and unnecessary and, if implemented, they will have a significant negative impact on the United States’ economic growth.
According to the AIIS, the suggested measures are intended to “increase domestic steel production” to a level “needed for the long-term viability of the industry”. But this sector is already the most protected in the country, and whatever problems it has have not been caused by steel produced elsewhere. While the report cites several mill shutdowns, those facilities were closed not because of imports, but because they were antiquated and inefficient. In contrast, the CEO of one of the country’s newest steelmakers, Big River Steel - which faces the same competition from foreign companies as legacy firms - has said that, “automotive manufacturers [are] beating a path to our door” because, unlike those other manufacturers, it is not relying on decades-old technology.
The AIIS warned that, if the United States chooses to abandon long-standing principles of free trade, Pandora’s box will be opened, and other countries will be sure to assert “national security” reasons for protecting many other politically sensitive products from export competition. The retaliatory measures that will follow will drive up manufacturing costs, inflate prices, shrink high-value US exports, and push the United States and the world toward recession.
The AIIS urged President Trump to protect the country from the damage that tariffs, quotas, and other restrictive measures would inflict, and reject them outright.