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    Ethics and Your Business: Is a Deal a Deal, Even with a Terrorist?

    Written by John Packard


    Among the many hot-button issues facing the steel industry, ethical business practices is one that is often overlooked. I (John Packard, Publisher of SMU) found out how hot of an issue it can be in a recent exchange with a reader.

    In Sunday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update, I posed the following rhetorical question: Cable news is reporting that President Trump is considering “decertifying” the treaty with Iran, which is preventing the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons. Depending on the news source you listen to, the reasons for the potential decertification appear to be related to President Trump’s dislike of what he perceives as the terms of the agreement…. How different is the president decertifying a treaty he doesn’t like from a purchasing manager canceling a contract or an order that is no longer priced in his company’s favor? At what point do ‘ethics’ become part of the narrative?

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