Trump Promised to Protect Steel. Layoffs Are Coming Instead.
The layoffs have stunned these steelworkers who, just a year ago, greeted President Trump’s election as a new dawn for their industry. Mr. Trump pledged to build roads and bridges, strengthen “Buy America” provisions, protect factories from unfair imports and revive industry, especially steel.
.. Foreign steel makers have rushed to get their product into the United States before tariffs start. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, which tracks shipments, steel imports were 19.4 percent higher in the first 10 months of 2017 than in the same period last year.
.. When ArcelorMittal announced the layoffs in Conshohocken, it blamed those imports, as well as low demand for steel for bridges and military equipment.
.. Earlier this year, tariffs seemed imminent. Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, said in late May that he expected to conclude the steel investigation by the end of June.
And in early June, Mr. Trump told a crowd in Cincinnati, “Wait till you see what I’m going to do for steel and your steel companies,” vowing that he would “stop the dumping” of products at superlow prices by other countries.
“We’ll be seeing that very soon. The steel folks are going to be very happy,” he said.
.. Some officials, like Mr. Ross — a former steel executive who was on ArcelorMittal’s board until he was confirmed in February — wanted to push ahead with tariffs. But others, including economic and national security advisers, worried about repercussions, trade advisers say.
.. The tariffs had plenty of opponents. Automakers, food processors and companies in other industries that use steel and aluminum in their products complained that tariffs would drive up costs and make them less competitive, ultimately sacrificing more American jobs than they would save.
.. “The president’s own words and lack of action have actually put the industry in a worse position than if he had done nothing at all,”