Steel Industry Illustrates Nuances of Modern Trade
When it comes to steel tariffs, we could be in a trade war — with ourselves.
Entries by Christine McDaniel
THE METALWORKING GROUP
“In a typical year, I’d be looking at maybe buying more equipment or investing in the business. And now I don’t know what things are going to look like six months from now.”
-Mike Schmitt, CEO
BRINLY-HARDY COMPANY
“Our U.S. manufacturing jobs and our 179-year history should not be considered acceptable collateral damage.”
-Jane Hardy, CEO
MID-CONTINENT NAIL CORPORATION
“I’m fighting for our 500 jobs and myself.”
-Chris Pratt, General Manager
AMERICAN KEG COMPANY
“There’s only so much that a customer is willing to pay to buy an American-made keg.”
-Paul Czachor, CEO
Less-Educated Men Hit Hard by Technological Shift in Job Market
American workers are increasingly anxious about robots and automation replacing them in their jobs. The underlying dynamic is that jobs are changing because of automation, not disappearing. That’s not a concern in and of itself. The concern is that not everyone is on good footing to adjust.
Both Sides of the Manufacturing Equation
Helping one set of manufacturing workers can put others in harm’s way. For example, anti-dumping duties on primary metals might help 400,000 metal workers, but it also disadvantages 6 million other manufacturing workers, whose families and communities equally value their jobs.
Environmental Goods Agreement
The Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) is an effort by 17 participants representing 46 WTO Members to eliminate tariffs on a range of goods related to protecting or improving the environment. Together, these 46 Members account for 90 percent of environmental goods trade worldwide. The EGA would eliminate tariffs on a negotiated list of products designated as “environmental goods,” and would be signed by a subset of WTO Members. Trade practitioners call this type of agreement a plurilateral sectoral agreement: many countries, one sector.