Final Thoughts

Final thoughts

Written by Ethan Bernard

September 8, 2024

The phrase “political football” has been tossed around a lot lately. (Pun probably intended.) For the humble journalists at SMU who thought the week following Steel Summit would prove a quiet one… the news cycle had other ideas. We’ve seen a large trade case filed by US mills and the USW on coated imports from 10 nations. We’ve seen enough turns of the screw in the U.S. Steel/Nippon deal to build an Ikea bookcase. For example, President Biden is reportedly “preparing” to block the transaction on national security grounds. And in the background lurks the presidential election of 2024.

Some – if not many, but in any case a lot – of people on both sides of the aisle believe the results of this election will determine the course of these United States. For that reason, the stakes of this political football game seem akin to the Super Bowl. For those who attended Steel Summit, you may recall that I provided a no-nonsense, five-point guide to getting the most out of Summit, and—most importantly—staying safe.

In that spirit I will try to showcase three “political football” rules of the game I have gleaned as we enter the warp speed portion of the election cycle. Note that this is not the view of a trade attorney, a political scientist, or cable news commentator. Rather, it is the single view of one of the aforementioned humble journalists. The players in the drama have been disguised to keep objectivity.

  • It seems the first rule of political football is to talk about the football. Publish statements, react to statements published by others. Appear on cable news. But, at crucial times, refuse to give a statement, or do not respond at all to those seeking a statement. I will admit here that this is a 4-D level of the game I do not completely comprehend. Still, acting as if what you are saying is the most logical, level-headed, commonsense take vs. your opponent’s far-fetched wackiness seems integral to the process. Appeal to others’ interests, and note your actions are in service to them, never your own.
  • If you are a hypothetical leader of the free world, “prepare” to do something. Have this information filter down through the press and even to water coolers and Teams/Slack channels across the nation. After this occurs, stand back and watch rule #1 kick into high gear. The statements, reactions to statements, refusals to give statements, and uneasy silences, could overwhelm comprehension. Perhaps one day a quantum computer will exist to make sense of it all.
  • The final takeaway concerns a trading bloc in the Western Hemisphere. Be friends. Lower tariffs. Open doors, build factories across borders. Squabble. Accuse. Shake hands, maybe grab a beer after work. Also, file trade cases that include members of your bloc.

I think the most important rule that often gets overlooked is that it will eventually be Nov. 6. Now I am not saying that on Nov. 6 we will know who will be president. Rather, I’m using “Nov. 6” as a stand-in for whatever date, hopefully before January, when we learn the results of the election. While these issues could help decide votes, those votes are people who will be affected by the decisions taken on these issues. Whether you’re on the floor of a mill, or crunching numbers in a skyscraper, our country is in itself its own “national” trading bloc. We’re all in this together.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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