Impact of steel/aluminum tariffs one year later

It’s been more than one year since the U.S. imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum. “The tariffs continue to hurt steel-using manufacturers and consumers across the U.S.,” according to a recent statement by the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU), of which NAFEM is a member. “More and more manufacturers are reporting lost business to overseas competitors because of high steel prices in the U.S. and experiencing long delivery times for steel from the U.S. suppliers because the domestic steel industry cannot meet demand.”

CAMMU also released the results of several studies showing the negative economic impact of the tariffs:

• A study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that the tariffs increased the price of steel products by nine percent.
• A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton University, and Columbia University found that the China Section 301 and Section 232 steel/aluminum tariffs cost companies and consumers $3 billion a month in additional taxes and companies a further $1.4 billion in deadweight loses.
• CAMMU also included the results of NAFEM’s recent member survey in which more than 80 percent of respondents reported that the tariffs have negatively impacted their businesses, with more than half reporting that the steel and aluminum tariffs have impaired their ability to compete.