ASSOCIATED PRESS: Pass it On: U.S. executive learned from Japanese management
September 4, 2018
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
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Rising Metals Prices Show Little Sign of Substantially Boosting U.S. Production
August 24, 2018
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
CNBC: Michigan auto parts maker caught in trade war crosshairs
August 21, 2018
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
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Once again, Texans are right in the crosshairs of Trump’s trade war with China
August 21, 2018
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
INSIDE U.S. TRADE: Steel group cites Turkey decision in Section 232 challenge at CIT
August 21, 2018
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
HARTFORD BUSINESS: CT manufacturers scramble to blunt metals tariffs
August 20, 2018
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
THE TENNESSEAN: Tennessee manufacturers urge Trump to rescind steel tariffs
August 20, 2018
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
THE TENNESSEAN: Tennessee manufacturers urge Trump to rescind steel tariffs
August 20, 2018
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
HARTFORD BUSINESS: CT manufacturers scramble to blunt metals tariffs
August 20, 2018
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
UPI: Expect production cuts without tariff relief, U.S. energy group says
August 19, 2018
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
NORTHWEST INDIANA TIMES: Steel trade association trying to raise funds
August 17, 2018
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
TANK TRANSPORT TRADER: Opposition Growing To Steel, Aluminum Tariffs
August 16, 2018
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
ROLLING STONE: A Brief Overview of What Trump’s Tariffs Have Wrought
August 13, 2018
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
USA TODAY: These companies might close, lay off US workers
August 8, 2018
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
NEW YORK TIMES: Steel Giants With Ties to Trump Officials Block Tariff Relief for Hundreds of Firms
August 5, 2018
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
TODAY'S MACHINING WORLD: Ep. 3- Part 2 of Miles Free Interview
July 20, 2018
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
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL: Trump tariffs: Wisconsin manufacturers hit by trade polices discuss plight with Ron Johnson
July 17, 2018
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
TODAY'S MACHINING WORLD: Ep. 2- Talking Steel Tariffs with Miles Free
July 11, 2018
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
CBS: How Trump's trade war is already costing consumers
July 11, 2018
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
CLEVELAND 19: Cleveland steel company weighs in on trade war
July 9, 2018
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 HILL: Kudlow warns WTO won't determine US policy as summit nears
July 9, 2018
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
WASHINGTON POST: The U.S.-China trade war has begun. Here's how things got to this point.
July 6, 2018
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
FINANCIAL TIMES: US Industry starts to feel pain of trade disputes
July 5, 2018
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
CENTRAL PENN BUSINESS JOURNAL: In York County, reality of tariffs sets in
July 5, 2018
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
NEW YORK TIMES: Tariffs? Time for a Plan B: ‘Gobble Up Every Bit of Material That I Can’
July 5, 2018
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
CHINA DAILY: Steel business suffer from Trump's tariffs
July 4, 2018
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
NEW YORK TIMES: Trump's Taking Us From Temper Tantrum to Trade War
July 2, 2018
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
DALLAS NEWS: Texas company burdened by metal tariffs sues Trump administration
June 27, 2018
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
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Harley, stung by tariffs, shifts some production overseas
June 26, 2018
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
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Trump's 'America First' trade policy interfering with his 'energy dominance agenda'
June 25, 2018
"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
INFORUM: Bin, machinery makers hit by steel tariff hikes
June 19, 2018
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
WALL STREET JOURNAL: No Country for American Locker Makers
June 19, 2018
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
WASHINGTON POST: This Ohio factory thought it could bring U.S. jobs back from China. Then Trump got involved.
June 7, 2018
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
ABC 5: Steel tariffs starting to take tool on manufacturers in Northeast Ohio
June 7, 2018
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
THE ECONOMIST: President Trump's tariffs have united his opponents at home and abroad
June 7, 2018
“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
BLOOMBERG: Ross Backs Populist Push to Make America Great With Tariffs
May 30, 2018
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
NATIONAL REVIEW: How Trump's Steel Tariffs Could Harm National Security
May 30, 2018
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
REUTERS: EU trade chief expects U.S. import caps even if no tariffs
May 29, 2018
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
WASHINGTON POST: Trump's fluid approach to national and economic security is leaving his allies baffled
May 28, 2018
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
WALL STREET JOURNAL: As Trump Talks Tough on Trade, Worries Mount Over Lack of Action
May 28, 2018
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
NEW YORK TIMES: Now Even Japan Is Pushing Back Against Trump’s Tariffs
May 18, 2018
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
WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.S. Workers Already Feel the Effects of U.S.-China Trade Tensions
May 16, 2018
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
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Analysts question legality of U.S. Section 232 quota deals, say challenges at WTO unlikely
May 16, 2018
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
CGTN: American manufactures face collateral damage from US tariffs
May 15, 2018
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
THE HILL: Businesses vie for protection at hearing on Trump's China tariffs
May 15, 2018
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
CNBC: US steel suppliers and customers confront the uncertainty created by Trump's tariffs
May 11, 2018
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
ASSOCIATED PRESS: How US small businesses can navigate the trade wars
May 2, 2018
The Trump administration has so far avoided a trade fight with Europe by temporarily exempting it from hefty steel and aluminum tariffs. Yet the move also extends the uncertainty weighing on small businesses that use those materials, a much broader group than you might think.
For example, Gary Cammack, the owner of Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center, South Dakota, is worried that he will have to raise prices on steel barbed wire that he sells to area ranchers, from $60.95 a roll to as high as $67... FULL STORY
INSIDE U.S. TRADE: Downstream groups call on Trump to enter into global talks instead of imposing steel, aluminum quotas
May 1, 2018
The American Institute for International Steel and the newly formed Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users are calling on President Trump to prioritize dialogue on steel and aluminum over Section 232 restrictions to resolve broader overcapacity issues, reiterating concerns about harm to U.S. consumers.
The U.S. on Monday decided to extend by one month its tariff exclusions for Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The U.S also reached agreements in principle with Australia, Argentina and Brazil, as well as a final agreement with South Korea. In all of the Section 232 negotiations, the White House said, the administration “is focused on quotas that will restrain imports, prevent transshipment, and protect the national security.”... FULL STORY
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Metal Buyers Race to Secure Supplies Ahead of Tariff Decision
April 28, 2018
Manufacturers are racing to shore up supplies of steel and aluminum, as the Trump administration considers an end to some tariff exemptions on Tuesday that could tighten supplies and push prices of both metals up further.
Qualtek Manufacturing Inc., a Colorado-based stamper of metal parts for medical equipment, has seen the delivery time for aluminum double to 14 weeks since the tariffs took effect in March. Chief Executive Troy Roberts said he’s also waiting twice as long and paying 35% more for stainless steel... FULL STORY
THE DAILY SIGNAL: Steel Tariffs Already Hurting Steel-Using Industries
April 27, 2018
Economists and industry leaders predicted price increases and potential jobs losses after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. What may have seemed like rhetoric is now reality.
The sneaky brilliance of the tariffs is that benefits are concentrated to a small, politically connected, and very vocal few, while costs for American consumers are widely dispersed... FULL STORY