AAM is Traveling to America’s Steel Towns to See the Real-Life Impacts of the Section 232 Tariffs
It’s been just over a year since the Trump administration instituted “Section 232” trade action to address surging steel imports. President Trump’s decision to institute steel tariffs has proven to be one of the more controversial decisions of his time in office — which is rather interesting, considering this is a president who seems to thrive on controversy — but nonetheless people seem to have a lot of very important thoughts about it.
But what is often missing from the typical Acela Corridor rhetoric is actual on-the-ground information about what is happening in the steel communities who saw the direct effects of the trade action. With that in mind, we decided to visit some of these places and find out what is happening for ourselves.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul recently traveled to Coatesville, Pa., and Granite City, Ill., two steel towns that were devastated by the steel imports crisis.
Coatesville is home to the oldest continuously operating steel mill in the country — and is a key supplier of the special steel used by the military and to build critical infrastructure — but it came close to shutting down until the steel tariffs helped stabilize the industry. The steel mill in Granite City did shut down in 2015, but the trade action led to the restart of the mill’s two blast furnaces in 2018.
We’re sharing some of the findings from the two trips in a new special section on our website. You can also take a deeper dive on The Manufacturing Report podcast, which is available on iTunes and over on Soundcloud — here’s the episode on Coatesville, and here is Scott’s report from Granite City.
The podcast and special report on the website provide an in-depth look at what is happening in Coatesville and Granite City, and are really worth your time.
We will note that not everyone we spoke with is a supporter of Donald Trump, and not everyone is even involved in the steel industry. But what is clear from our visits so far is that these steel mills not only play a vital role in securing our nation, but also in ensuring the communities where they are located can survive. Times were tough in Coatesville and Granite City before the Section 232 action; things are better now.
***
Reposted from the AAM
