This is a great book to read before engaging in any intelligent discussion regarding trade and tariffs. It's short, easy to follow, and based on sound economic principles, not political sound bites. The author is a small government, anti-Keynesian economist.
http://russroberts.info/books/the-choice/
I have no doubt that there is a "long game" aspect to Trump's recent trade war, and I'm willing to see that play out, but anyone who thinks the U.S. steel industry is "back" simply because of the short term increase in production and price brought about by artificial and unsustainable tariffs is ignorant and getting played. Real sustainable growth in U.S steel can/will only come from making better steel more efficiently than 'the other guy'.
Of course it’s a long game. It can’t be anything else. You can’t build a factory in a day.
Sure it’s going to hurt manufacturers that rely on foreign built products or steel which in turn is going to have an effect on the American consumer, but it will hurt a lot less than seeing child labor in foreign countries making pennies a day to make the cheapest product your talking about.
Automation and the steel workers union objection to accept it caused steel to go overseas.
There are hundreds if not thousands of things that have to be engineered and approved before construction even starts, although guess who has streamlined that process?
Obama said the jobs going overseas would never come back, and unless Trump had a magic wand, it was impossible to do so.
Guess what, President Trump didn’t wave a magic wand, he applied conservative principles into the economy and the economy responded in kind.
Steel needs to rebuilt in right to work states like auto manufacturers have done.