Final Thoughts

The Trump tariff roller coaster continues. Where it stops, I don’t pretend to know. Does the steel market like the ride? Depends on who you asked and when.

As best as I can tell, there was a fair amount of support for Section 232 tariffs extending further downstream. The tariffs benefited US mills in a significant way in 2018. And to companies further downstream, it seemed only fair that they be able to enjoy some of the benefits their mill suppliers had seen.

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

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