Final Thoughts

President-elect Donald Trump will officially retake the White House on Jan. 20. I’ve been getting questions about how his administration’s policies might reshape the steel industry and domestic manufacturing.

I covered the tumult and norm-busting of Trump’s first term: Section 232, Section 301, USMCA – and that’s just on the trade policy side of things. It’s safe to say that we’ll have no shortage of news in 2025 when it comes to trade and tariffs.

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.

Michael Cowden

Latest in Analysis

Last chance to save: Tampa Steel Conference early-bird rate ends Sept. 30

US sheet buyers grapple with mill delays as supply pressure spreads

SMU Daily Digest newsletters coming soon

Commerce raises AD duties on Korean OCTG

Brazilian pig iron prices fall, but global woes could lift market