President Trump defended his tariffs on steel and aluminum Sunday night by arguing the decision would be the change needed to spark the domestic steel and aluminum industries.
“We are on the losing side of almost all trade deals. Our friends and enemies have taken advantage of the U.S. for many years. Our Steel and Aluminum industries are dead. Sorry, it’s time for a change! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump tweeted.
We are on the losing side of almost all trade deals. Our friends and enemies have taken advantage of the U.S. for many years. Our Steel and Aluminum industries are dead. Sorry, it’s time for a change! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018
Contrary to Trump’s assertion that the steel and aluminum industries are “dead,” steel and aluminum production have remained near consistent over the last several decades.
According to the Federal Reserve, steel production in 2017 was at about the same level as it was in 1984. Aluminum production is at a higher point now than it was in 1972, the earliest year data was available.
Trump’s tariff announcement Thursday has been widely panned by most Republicans and Democrats, and has escalated tensions with American trading partners abroad. The European Union has already threatened to increase tariffs on American-made goods like blue jeans, bourbon and Harley Davidson motorcycles.
However, defenders of the deal say Trump’s tariffs — a 25 percent tax on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports — will help reduce trade deficits and are an update on trade deals made generations ago.
Trump is set to announce the official tariff language some time in the coming week. It’s unknown at this point if some American allies will receive exemptions from the taxes, but administration officials said Sunday that’s not the plan at the moment.
