EPI, USW Insist S232 Must Remain in Place Despite Opposition

Section 232 tariffs should remain in place because they backstop a stable U.S. steel industry, the benefits of which will outlast a temporary price spike, a panel of industry experts and trade union members said.

“These typically last six to nine months. So we can expect that these price bubbles–and that’s really what they are–are going to go away when capacity comes back online,” said Robert E. Scott, senior economist and director of trade and manufacturing policy research at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.