Leibowitz on Trade: The Riddle of Steel and Aluminum Tariffs—Lessons from Afghanistan

We are seeing (again) the disruption that unexpected news can bring. Just when we thought we were out of the woods (no pun intended), we see a resurgence of hospitalizations from COVID, the fall of Afghanistan, perhaps the unluckiest country in the world, a major earthquake in Haiti, perhaps the second unluckiest, and a hurricane headed for Boston! The bad news takes the full hour, leaving no time for the “feel good” story at the end of the evening news.

Perhaps with all this turmoil, you have little time to ponder the China, steel and aluminum tariffs that have been around for more than three years now. But the chaos we see on the evening news reminds us all that unexpected and unintended consequences are always with us, and that the government (ours and everyone else’s) cannot anticipate or deal with all the effects of their policies.

Lewis Leibowitz

Lewis Leibowitz, owner of the Law Office of Lewis E. Leibowitz, practices in the areas of international trade law, customs law, and international commercial transactions. He represents clients before all federal courts and agencies dealing with international trade matters. Mr. Leibowitz advises and assists clients in diverse matters including trade remedies, customs, foreign-trade zones and free trade agreements, trade negotiations, and related matters. He can be reached at lewis.leibowitz@lellawoffice.com.