According to a recent New York Times report, Joe Carlson, president of Lakeside Manufacturing and the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers said, “In 24 years, I have seen price increases and tariffs, but never this combination of both before.” Carlson said that the drastic increase on US hot rolled steel prices, for example, is negatively affecting business prospects for small US manufacturers. Additionally, US consumers will pay more for steel products while the effect on the steel industry long-term is limited.
Mark Vaughn of Vaughn Manufacturing in Nashville, Tennessee, said his business backlog has been reduced due to rising domestic steel prices. Vaughn is contemplating reducing his highly skilled workforce of 50 by 10 to 20 percent because of reduced business due to Section 232 tariffs. Vaughn said, “Tariffs are a tax, so they took the advantage from the recent tax cuts right back.”