SMA, AISI Endorse New Study Supporting Section 232

U.S. steel producers, facing intensifying criticism from steel consumers over record-high steel prices, were quick to point to a new report this week from the Economic Policy Institute, which concludes that the Trump-era Section 232 tariffs have been an effective deterrent to unfair imports and should be continued by the Biden administration.

The Steel Manufacturers Association, which represents electric-arc furnace mills, said the EPI report—Why Global Steel Surpluses Warrant U.S. Section 232 Import Measures—clearly communicates the effectiveness of Section 232 steel tariffs. “The tariffs have resulted in increased investment and modernization of the domestic steel industry,” said SMA President Phil Bell. “The report validates how steel tariffs have created jobs and have ensured America’s national security is not jeopardized by structural issues of global excess steel capacity, subsidies and surges in unfairly traded imports.”