Based on the recent news regarding the impact of trade frictions, we thought it would be a good time to look into the underlying reason for the Trump Administration’s concerns over unfair trade practices. Looking at the steel industry specifically, it has been a controversial political debate for decades and one that will most likely continue into the future. Countries from all over the world have imported cheap steel into the United States for decades; however China’s production has increased dramatically in the last decade and shows no signs of slowing down.
The introduction of tariffs and quotas have been around since the Nixon Administration, more recently former President Obama spent much of his two terms trying to figure out a solution. President Trump focused much of his presidential campaign promising to fight these unfair trade practices, catching the attention of many whom have felt these issues first-hand.