DJT Leads a Signing Event Regarding the Trade Expansion Act
- Thread starter WVU82_rivals
- Start date
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 20, 2017
President Donald J. Trump: Standing up to Unfair Steel Trade Practices
“We're going to use American steel, we're going to use American labor, we are going to come first in all deals.” – President Donald J. Trump
A JUSTIFIABLE AND NECESSARY ACTION: As imports of steel to the United States continue to rise, an examination of foreign practices is urgently needed.
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 20, 2017
President Donald J. Trump: Standing up to Unfair Steel Trade Practices
“We're going to use American steel, we're going to use American labor, we are going to come first in all deals.” – President Donald J. Trump
A JUSTIFIABLE AND NECESSARY ACTION: As imports of steel to the United States continue to rise, an examination of foreign practices is urgently needed.
- Despite America’s existing domestic steel industry, imports of steel into the United States have risen 19.6 percent between February 2016 and February 2017.
- Recent reports by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) have found that steel imports injure the United States steel industry.
- The USITC has found domestic steel makers are harmed where nations that export steel products to the United States unfairly subsidize their products or sell them at artificially low price.
- Today, the President signed a Presidential Memorandum prioritizing an investigation initiated by the Secretary of Commerce into whether steel imports threaten to impair the national security.
- The investigation is being conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
- The Secretary of Commerce is directed to expedite his investigation of the effects of steel imports on the national security to determine the following:
- Whether steel imports cause American workers to lose jobs which are needed to meet security requirements of the domestic steel industry.
- Any negative effects of steel imports on government revenue.
- Any harm steel imports cause to the economic welfare of the United States, recognizing the close relationship between economic prosperity and national security.
- By law the investigation must be concluded and a report submitted within 270 days.
- If the report concludes that steel imports threaten to impair the national security, and the President concurs, he may take several actions, including tariffs, to eliminate the negative effects of steel imports on the national security of the United States.
- Then-Candidate Trump:
- Observed that foreign nations are “dumping vast amounts of steel all over the United States, which essentially is killing our steelworkers and steel companies.”
- Promised that “we will put new American steel into the spine of this country.”
- Promised that “We’re going to use American steel, we’re going to use American labor, we are going to come first in all deals.”
Isn't it prudent to learn the depth of the issues first? Hating Trump is fine, but using logic even better.
Not sure a massive federal study is needed to conclude steel tariffs don't work and probably wouldn't be legal. It's a PR move to kick the can down the road a little further to his dumber followers. America First!
If China is dumping that violates trade laws. You have to build your case first. This is not that hard to understand.
If China is dumping steel, what would you do about it?
Study it. lol. He specifically said this wasn't about China though.
BTW, that knownothing Obama threatened to impose steel tariffs last year (even did it w/o a wasteful "study").
Correction - he did impose tariffs....spoiler alert - they didn't work
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timwor...obs-becoming-poorer-as-a-result/#345104ce5303
I would take it to the World Trade Organization which makes it more legitimate and Trump won't be accused of imposing unilateral tariffs. But if China or anyone else is dumping product into the U.S. costing U.S. jobs, it has to stop.
Completely disagree. Cheaper steel prices would lead to shifting of US jobs, not costing US jobs. The 2002 steel tariffs resulted in US workers losing 197,000 jobs due to higher steel prices. The US steel industry employed 187,000 workers. Should we also charge stiff taxes on natural gas to make coal more competitive? Slap giant sales tax on online retail to save the shopping malls?
First of all, if China is dumping that is ILLEGAL. Secondly, it does cost jobs. If a steel company can't compete because another country cheats and sells below cost, men and women will be laid off. Simple economics.
Your analogy about natural gas is flawed. Deeply flawed. Natural gas is produced in the U.S. by U.S. workers. If their prices cause the loss of coal jobs, then on a net basis, more natural gas workers and less coal miners. Likely evens out. Not so with foreign dumping. U.S. workers lose jobs, it does not even out.
And it makes steel cheaper to American companies that use steel. Which in turn makes it cheaper to the American consumer. *gasp* It costs Americans steel jobs, but it's a net gain for the American workforce.
Like steel, natural gas and coal are raw materials sold on the global market, so the analogy works just fine AND you proved my point with the second half. Many thanks.
You don't know that cheaper steel leads to more jobs. It may simply lead to more profits for the buyers of steel. You're comparing apples and oranges. One is a foreign made product being dumped. The others are American made commodities competing on price.
We do not import nat gas or coal. That is where your comparison falls apart. We export both of them, although we naturally liquify gas first.
