Curbs on Steel Imports Would Harm Economy, Industry Leaders Tell White House

Fifteen industry groups are warning President Donald Trump that a proposal to curb steel imports would harm national security, the economy, and the U.S. steel industry. 

In a Sept. 7 letter, they said import restrictions would result in critical raw materials shortages for them because many types of steel products are not available from domestic sources.

The groups supply steel products used by the defense and other industries. They include gear, fastener and can producers, as well as steel fabricators and forgers. Collectively, the industry groups said they employ more than 1 million vs. the 81,900 who work in the U.S. basic steel industry.

“Unavailability and increased costs would force our customers to go offshore to make or buy their products, and this will inevitably result in less demand from domestic steel mills,” the industry groups told Mr. Trump.

U.S. steelmakers urged the president to curb imports in a letter last month, warning that subsidized foreign competitors are “undermining the viability of the U.S. steel industry.”U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, is overseeing an investigation. He had hoped to make recommendations to the White House by the end of June.

But his report has been complicated by evidence that import restrictions would hurt other sectors of the domestic economy and could prompt retaliation by major U.S. trading partners.