Tariffs promise to hurt more than help
A lot of people are happy that President Donald Trump put a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. That could be a real bad move. Since he put the tariffs on, the stock market is going down.
The Wall Street Journal points out that the steel industry employs 140,000 American workers. The steel-using industries employ 6.5 million workers. Some of the industries the auto, airplane parts and airplane manufacturers like Boeing could be hard hit. Boeing exports many of its planes and will suffer in a trade war.
Steel-using industries employ 80 times more people than those that make steel.
Our trading partners will retaliate with tariffs of their own. Two thirds of our steel is produced here. China exports just over 2 percent and Russia exports 7-8 percent to us. Most of our imported steel comes from Canada, Brazil, South Korea and Mexico.
According to a report by the consulting firm of Trade Partnership Worldwide LLC, Trump's tariffs will create 33,464 more jobs in the U.S. steel industry and the nonferrous metal industries. The rest of the economy will lose 179,334 jobs for starters. Then if that happens, the steel industry will lose jobs.
The Farm Bureau of Illinois reported that in 2016, China imported 31 percent of the Illinois soybean crop. In a trade war, they could stop importing Illinois soybeans and import soybeans from Argentina and Brazil. About 42 percent of the freight hauled by American railroads is tied to international trade. The trucking industry would suffer just like the railroads.
If President Donald Trump were smart, he would heed the warnings of both Democrats and Republicans and rescind the tariffs. But then whoever accused him of being smart?
Thomas Carras
Elk Grove Village