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from the so-now-our-cars-and-buildings-will-all-cost-more dept.
US steel and aluminium imports face big tariffs, Trump says
President Donald Trump has said he will sign off on steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports next week, hitting producers like Canada and China.
Flanked by US metals executives at the White House, he said a 25% tariff would be slapped on steel products, and a 10% tariff would be imposed on aluminium.
Mr Trump tweeted that the US was suffering from "unfair trade".
The US imports four times more steel than it exports, and is reliant on steel from more than 100 nations.
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by Virindi on Friday March 02 2018, @10:45PM (8 children)
But don't forget the reason there is not sufficient capacity now: it is all moved to China because domestic producers cannot compete with producers who pay employees nothing, have extremely unsafe working conditions, ignore environmental controls (and dump tons of garbage into the atmosphere), and have subsidized export shipping (and many such producers are flat out government owned so they can even operate at a loss if needed to drive competitors out of business).
It is hardly a "free market", every rule is stacked against domestic producers. That they all went under is only natural.
If you believe there should be health and safety rules, environmental rules, etc, then it is almost required that you also support leveling the playing field for those who do not have such rules. Otherwise it is just a NIBY style attitude, let the workers die and environment be destroyed somewhere else, it's not here so it's not my problem!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by HiThere on Friday March 02 2018, @11:04PM (4 children)
Yes. If I trusted this government, then I'd support the tariff. But I don't. I suspect it is designed to expire quickly enough that it would not be sensible to build a new steel factor in the US. It may not be high enough to make that sensible anyway, but that's a tougher call.
That said, it's probably more sensible than subsidizing industries. So among the things Trump has done, this doesn't directly count against him in my book, because I'm not certain that it's scheduled to quickly expire. And because so many details about the implementation are uncertain. But the praise couldn't get much fainter.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Virindi on Friday March 02 2018, @11:11PM (3 children)
This brings up a good point: letting the President unilaterally declare tariffs is very stupid.
Business needs to be able to plan, and if the playing field changes as the wind blows and rules are only valid until the next person completely reverses them, everyone is screwed. That's a recipe for a less vibrant market, and victory for the state subsidized producers elsewhere who can weather storms with the help of government coffers.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday March 03 2018, @01:54AM (2 children)
Protectionism emerged from the great depression. It was a pretty sane strategy until we were drawn into WWII by Stan Lee. Stan, aka Stanley Martin Lieber, a known womanizer, drew America into WWII to fight for his own interests by turning a wimpy but suggestable American loser into the greatest Nazi-killing frisbee-thrower who ever lived.
You can thank the proud Blacks of Wakanda for producing the chemical-makeup-undisclosed alloy called "vibranium" used to make Cap's legendary frisbee. African blacks enabled American expansionism, it's all their fault!
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday March 03 2018, @05:22AM (1 child)
The Vibranium hype isn't all it's cracked up to be. Stupid thing seems to eat an entire pack of AA batteries a week...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 03 2018, @05:45AM
You're holding it wrong.
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday March 03 2018, @03:37AM
Well the USA gets 16% of its steel from Canada and we're also one of America's main exports destination for that finished steel. Going to be lots of unemployed people on both sides of the border and with Trump's lack of understanding of trade between us, things are going to get worse employment wise as quite a few States depend on trade with Canada and most of these tariffs seem not to be thought out. Things like jacking up the prices of houses due to illegal tariffs on soft wood, solar tariffs that last just long enough to fuck up American (and Canadian) industries. Steel tariffs that China can easily ride out while increasing the prices of a lot of stuff.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 03 2018, @07:23AM
(and dump[s] tons of garbage into [rivers that provide drinking water])
Today's headline:
Trump Administration Guts Safeguards for Nation's No. 2 Toxic Pollution Threat [coal ash] [earthjustice.org]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by angelosphere on Saturday March 03 2018, @08:25PM
You are an idiot.
Where did China get its steel manufacturing plants from?
They bought old plants from all over the world. Especially Germany, and I'm sure many from the US, too.
You problems are all home made: it is YOU who don't want to pay a wage a man, a family can live from
It is you, who sold your steel plant to China and now you are wondering about the boomerang coming back?
How retarded are you? Of you had kept your plants and would for fuck sake change your society away from 'the cheapest is the best' you would not feel the need to elect people like Trump.
What is he going to do anyway?
The world has changed ... since 50 years or more ... you can only bully around countries like Cuba and Venezuela, instead just leaving them in peace and let it up to their own responsibility how they evolve.
If there are tariffs on european products in the US, the only US products I will buy in future are Macs ...