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The American economy is roaring. As Americans have returned to the workforce, unemployment has fallen to lows rarely seen in the last 50 years. Job growth is strong – 201,000 jobs were created in August – and some employers are even having trouble finding workers. Earnings are up, and last year median household income hit a new high of roughly $61,400. And of course, last quarter’s 4.2 percent GDP growth undercuts any notion that the “new normal” constrains us to tepid 2 percent growth.

In the face of these positive indicators, the administration seems determined to snatch failure from the jaws of success by escalating its trade war with our top trading partners... FULL STORY

The US Court of International Trade has granted a request filed by the American Institute for International Steel to have a three-judge panel decide whether the US Section 232 statute used to impose tariffs on steel imports is unconstitutional, the AIIS said Thursday.

CIT cases are typically heard by a single judge, however in challenges to the constitutionality of US law and other instances with "broad and significant implications, the chief judge may assign the case to a three-judge panel," according to the court... FULL STORY

The fate of a Missouri nail manufacturer suffering under President Donald Trump’s steel tariffs has put Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley in a bind between his support for the president’s trade strategy and a local plant that says it could be forced to close.

Mid Continent Nail Corporation says it could shutter its Poplar Bluff plant, which employs about 335 workers, as early as this month without an exemption to tariffs, the site’s operations general manager, Chris Pratt, told reporters in early September. The company previously had said that it might not survive through Labor Day but stayed open... FULL STORY

When President Trump promised to make America great again, the employees at Mid Continent Nail in Missouri probably didn’t expect he would put them out of work. But the steel tariffs imposed in June have the company hanging by a thread.

Mid Continent is the largest nail manufacturer in the U.S. and has been in Missouri for more than 25 years. It had 500 employees at its Popular Bluff plant and was the second largest employer in the small town before the Trump tariffs hit... FULL STORY

Troy Roberts is the chief executive of Qualtek Manufacturing Inc., a small metal stamping company located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which has 74 employees and US$7 million in annual sales of parts for medical devices and other metal products.

Before joining Qualtek, a 50-year-old privately held American company in 2016, Roberts served as president and chief operating officer of AIDA-American Corp., the North American subsidiary of Japanese-based AIDA, the second-largest global manufacturer of high-precision mechanical stamping presses and automation equipment for the auto, appliance and electronics industries... FULL STORY

Rising prices for steel and aluminum are driving up the value of shipments and orders of metals being produced at U.S. plants, but show little sign of substantially boosting the quantity of metals being churned out of U.S. factories or the number of workers producing them.

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, a move meant to encourage more production in the U.S. at the expense of foreign competitors by driving up the price of imported goods... FULL STORY

Representatives from a struggling southeast Missouri nail factory were in Washington D.C. Tuesday to plea for relief from the trade war.

Missourinet media partner KFVS-TV reports leading officers from Poplar Bluff’s Mid-Continent Steel and Wire made their case directly to the head of the Commerce Department... FULL STORY

Texas is once again stuck in the crossfire of President Donald Trump’s intensifying trade war with China. The state’s energy, chemical and tech sectors are among those bracing for new pain after the U.S. on Tuesday finalized tariffs on $16 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing on Wednesday finished touches on retaliatory levies to cover $16 billion in American products... FULL STORY

The American Institute for International Steel is citing President Trump's decision to double Section 232 tariffs on Turkish imports as another reason the statute should be modified. The group is pushing the Court of International Trade to issue a declaration that the law relied on by Trump to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel is unconstitutional, as well as a court order preventing further enforcement of the steel tariff increase. A ruling in its favor would also require that U.S. Customs and Border Protection refund tariffs already paid... FULL STORY

In the nearly six months since President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, Connecticut manufacturers have scrambled to blunt the impact of rising materials costs, jammed-up suppliers and other effects from the Republican administration's trade policies.

The impact of tariffs, and strategies deployed to mitigate them, vary from company to company, but three central Connecticut manufacturers interviewed by the Hartford Business Journal reported a combination of efforts that include changing ordering strategies or stockpiling key metals, asking the federal government for tariff exemptions, and diversifying or reshuffling their supplier mix... FULL STORY

A group of Dickson County manufacturers sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to rescind the tariffs on imported steel, which they say have impaired their ability to compete with foreign companies.

Executives from six area companies employing more than 1,000 Tennesseans described the significant price increases on steel, both domestic and imported, that they said are impairing their ability to compete against foreign companies. According to the Aug. 13 letter, steel prices are the highest they have been since 2008 and they have increased by 43 percent since this time last year... FULL STORY

A group of Dickson County manufacturers sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to rescind the tariffs on imported steel, which they say have impaired their ability to compete with foreign companies... FULL STORY

In the nearly six months since President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, Connecticut manufacturers have scrambled to blunt the impact of rising materials costs, jammed-up suppliers and other effects from the Republican administration's trade policies. The impact of tariffs, and strategies deployed to mitigate them, vary from company to company, but three central Connecticut manufacturers interviewed by the Hartford Business Journal reported a combination of efforts that include changing ordering strategies or stockpiling key metals, asking the federal government for tariff exemptions, and diversifying or reshuffling their supplier mix... FULL STORY

Steel tariffs are creating headwinds for the U.S. energy sector, impeding with the government's own objectives and stifling production, industry leaders said. "The Trump Administration has supported the development of robust domestic energy production. Energy infrastructure projects are complex, expensive, and depend on global supply chains," Josh Zive, a senior principal at Bracewell LLP, told UPI. "The Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs are creating uncertainty and increasing costs for the development and construction of these energy infrastructure projects across the country."... FULL STORY

A trade association representing the steel supply chain appealed to members to drum up funding for its lawsuit against the Section 232 steel tariffs of 25 percent on foreign-made steel. The American Institute for International Steel, along with oil country tubular goods-maker Sim-Tex and steel-trader Kurt Orban Partners, filed a lawsuit disputing the constitutionality of the law allowing the president to impose tariffs on the grounds that the erosion of the U.S. steel industry is a threat to national security... FULL STORY

With the slogan “tariffs are taxes,’’ a diverse array of steel and aluminum-using manufacturers from across the United States has launched a new coalition focused on terminating the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. Called the Coalition of American Metal Manufactures and Users, the new trade group hopes to avoid what happened in 2001 when steel was similarly locked out through Section 201 tariffs. Those tariffs lead to the loss of an estimated 200,000 jobs... FULL STORY

President Trump has long felt the United States is getting ripped off when it comes to trade. He’s lamented it at campaign rallies, he’s tweeted about it repeatedly and this year he finally decided to do something about it. It’s a simple fix, Trump reasoned: Just tax the hell out of America’s biggest trade partners. “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump’s tweeted in March after imposing tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. “Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!”... FULL STORY

The ongoing trade war President Donald Trump has waged against world powers, including some of our closest allies, doesn't show signs of slowing down.  Left in the fray: Companies, American workers and consumers... FULL STORY

Two of America’s biggest steel manufacturers — both with deep ties to administration officials — have successfully objected to hundreds of requests by American companies that buy foreign steel to exempt themselves from President Trump’s stiff metal tariffs. They have argued that the imported products are readily available from American steel manufacturers... FULL STORY

Miles Free, Director of Research and Technology at the Precision Products Association, opines on electric cars, economic patriotism and how American machine shops have evolved to thrive in today’s economy... FULL STORY

Ralph Hardt of Manitowoc-based Jagemann Stamping Co. came to the Federal Courthouse in Milwaukee Monday to tell Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson exactly how tariffs are hitting his bottom line. Hardt, the firm's president, said a Canadian customer was going to give Jagemann a $3 million project to produce automotive parts but because of an increase in steel prices in the U.S., the job went to a Korean business... FULL STORY

In Episode #2 of Swarfcast, Today’s Machining World’s podcast, Noah interviewed Miles Free of the PMPA (Precision Machined Products Association). Free is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the steel trade. They discussed how the recently implemented tariffs on raw materials into the United States affect the U.S. precision machining industry... FULL STORY

This is how a trade war begins. The Trump administration imposed a 25 percent tax on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports July 6, mostly on parts imported to manufacture U.S. goods. China retaliated with taxes on an equal amount of U.S. products, including soybeans, electric cars and pork. Another $16 billion in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods may take effect at the end of July. And Mr. Trump is threatening hundreds of billions more... FULL STORY

The war on trade tariffs is effecting people nationally as well as locally. Bill Adler is the owner of Stripmatic Products and has been since 1992.  “95 percent of the steel we buy is domestic, US made steel,” Adler explained. At Stripmatics they stamp the steel to make parts for your car, which means if the tariff isn't figured out soon, the cost of your new car could go up... FULL STORY

The president’s top economic adviser on Wednesday implied that the U.S. may not abide by any rulings from the World Trade Organization (WTO), a tough signal ahead of a Group of Seven summit this weekend where Trump is expected to face a backlash from allied leaders over his protectionist trade agenda... FULL STORY

With all the recent hostilities, it's easy to forget that China and the United States have been top trading partners for years. In 2015, China overtook Canada as the United States' largest trading partner, boasting nearly $500 billion in total imports and exports, about 15 percent of total U.S. trade. The United States, on the other hand, has been China's top trading partner since the 1990s, overtaking Hong Kong as the largest importer of Chinese merchandise goods in 1998... FULL STORY

Manufacturing has thrived in the US over the past couple of years but industry fears are rising that the escalating series of trade disputes provoked by President Donald Trump will bring its growth to a halt. Many US manufacturers say the increased costs of steel, aluminium and components caused by US tariffs, and the accompanying threat of being shut out of other countries’ markets by retaliatory measures, have created uncertainty that is tempting them to put a brake on hiring and investment decisions... FULL STORY

In some cases, midstate businesses increase customer costs in response to retaliatory tariff. Business has been booming for Habot Steel Co. in West Manchester Township... FULL STORY

With tariffs driving up the price of stainless steel, the precision-part manufacturer Accu-Swiss in Oakdale, Calif., came up with a plan to save money: turn off the lights but keep the machines on. “We are being hurt because of the cost increase,” said Sohel Sareshwala, the company’s owner and president. To squeeze more output from existing equipment, he is “running the machines in a lights-out operation.”... FULL STORY

When Bill Adler, owner of a metal stamping company in Ohio, prepared to bid on a contract to make commercial sausage stuffers for a company that wanted to replace its Chinese supplier last year, he thought he could by matching China's price... FULL STORY

In one way, Donald Trump’s attack on our foreign trade partners resembles his attack on immigrants: in each case, the attack is framed as a response to evildoing that exists only in his imagination. No, there isn’t a wave of violent crime by immigrants, and MS-13 isn’t taking over American towns; no, the European Union doesn’t have “horrific” tariffs on U.S. products (the average tariff is only 3 percent)... FULL STORY

A Texas company is suing the Trump administration to overturn steep metal tariffs imposed earlier this year. Waller-based Sim-Tex, a pipeline products distributor, on Wednesday joined a California company and the American Institute for International Steel to challenge the constitutionality of the law that President Donald Trump used to pursue import levies on steel and aluminum... FULL STORY

Production of Harley-Davidson motorcycles sold in Europe will move from U.S. factories to facilities overseas, the Milwaukee-based company announced Monday, a consequence of the retaliatory tariffs the EU is imposing on American exports in an escalating trade war with the Trump administration... FULL STORY

"America First" vs. "energy dominance." Those two signature initiatives of President Trump are going to war with each other, as his protectionist policies and expected intervention in competitive markets are putting up barriers to the oil and natural gas industry... FULL STORY

The steel tariff threats and realities have been roiling for four or five months and are starting to come to a head in farm country, where farmers already are watching purchases carefully... FULL STORY

Opportunity lured entrepreneur John Altstadt out of retirement and into the business of making lockers for workplaces, gyms and schools. Yet a year after becoming president of Lyon Group Holding, his company is struggling to survive as Donald Trump’s steel tariff gives his Chinese competitors an unfair advantage. Meet the law of unintended tariff consequences with arbitrary harm to the innocent... FULL STORY

Bill Adler was invited last year to bid on a contract to make commercial sausage stuffers for a company that wanted to replace its Chinese supplier. The customer had just one non­negotiable demand: Match China’s price.

Adler, owner of metal-parts maker Stripmatic Products, thought he could. But even as he readied his proposal, talk of President Trump’s steel tariffs sent the price of Stripmatic’s main raw material soaring... FULL STORY

The cost of doing business with one commodity is creating a lot of concern in Northeast Ohio as the price of steel soars. One local manufacturer is painting a grim picture as the U.S. holds its position on imposing metal tariffs... FULL STORY

“HOW am I going to compete?” asks Sohel Sareshwala. He runs Accu-Swiss, a Californian company making customised components for the manufacture of semiconductors and cars. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium, both of which he uses as inputs, are eating into his profit margins and delaying his orders. Meanwhile, Mr Sareshwala’s competitors abroad, free of such concerns, can undercut him... FULL STORY

President Donald Trump’s unilateral tariff measures are necessary to fix a broken global trade system and the U.S., like other nations, should focus on its own interests, according to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross... FULL STORY

Fog afflicts all wars, those over trade in particular. And no fog is thicker than that created by the age-old national-security rationale for trade restrictions, applied most recently in defense of the tariffs imposed by President Trump on March 8 (and then delayed for Canada and Mexico until June 1) on steel imports, under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962... FULL STORY

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Tuesday she expected the United States to set a limit on steel and aluminum coming from Europe even if it decides not to impose import duties... FULL STORY

President Trump is merging his national security and trade goals in a blur of tactical improvisation that risks alienating U.S. allies and opening American businesses to costly retaliation, according to several Republican lawmakers, business executives and former U.S. officials... FULL STORY

As President Donald Trump considers new tariffs on imported vehicles and pursues a deal with China to avoid a trade war, economists and business leaders see a pattern emerging in the White House’s efforts to renegotiate many trade relationships: Open aggressively, then settle for incremental concessions... FULL STORY

After months of taking hits from the United States over North Korea policy and trade, Japan has decided that it will only be pushed so far, and is threatening to punch back.

On Friday, Japan notified the World Trade Organization that it was reserving the right to impose retaliatory tariffs against the United States in response to tariffs on steel and aluminum imports proposed by President Trump.

Japan has not yet filed a formal complaint with the W.T.O., but is signaling that it could impose the retaliatory measures if it does not gain tariff exemptions that it has been seeking from Washington... FULL STORY

The night Scott Wolfe, a U.S. Steel worker in Granite City, Ill., got his job back, he took his family out for a nice dinner for the first time in months. “It was a celebration,” said Mr. Wolfe, whose father and grandfather also worked at the plant.

Mr. Wolfe said he and other steelworkers directly benefited from the Trump administration’s March decision to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum from every country except Canada and Mexico.

“We waited a long time for tariffs,” he said. “If [Trump] hadn’t signed them, I believe I’d still be looking for a job.”... FULL STORY

While quota deals agreed to by the U.S. and other countries in exchange for immunity from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum could run up against World Trade Organization rules, analysts say the chances of a third-party challenge are slim due to litigation costs and other uncertainties.

The U.S. has agreed in principle to quota arrangements with Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and Australia and extended immunity from the tariffs to Canada, Mexico and the European Union until June 1.

While sources say the arrangements with Brazil, Argentina and Australia are still being finalized, the U.S. has pitched the quotas in a “take it or leave it” fashion, one said -- drawing comparisons to what are known as voluntary export restraints... FULL STORY

These are difficult days for a number of U.S. manufacturers who rely on steel and aluminum to make their products. The Trump administration’s recently announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum have raised the price of both metals significantly. And many of those manufacturers are not happy. CGTN’s Hendrik Sybrandy reports... FULL STORY

American companies took turns Tuesday beseeching the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to protect them from potential tariffs on China.

The hearings, which will run over three days, are an opportunity for the Trade Representative to get feedback on President Trump’s plan to impose $50 billion in tariffs on China for unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the trade law... FULL STORY

At a service center outside Cleveland, Majestic Steel receives and processes metal from U.S. mills, then stores it in seemingly endless aisles of rolled steel. Each cylinder weighs several tons and, after the steel is shipped to customers, its final form could take the shape of a household appliance or an office building. 

Some customers, such as those making license plates or road signs, need the steel as soon as possible. Others, such as those making garage doors or elevators for real estate, place orders several months in advance. That has presented a predicament for Majestic CEO Todd Leebow, since the uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariff policies makes it difficult to price steel that far in advance... FULL STORY