Tornado Alley (PROG)

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This Ohio factory thought it could bring U.S. jobs back from China. Then Trump got involved.

"Billions in U.S. solar projects shelved after Trump panel tariff"

by David J. Lynch June 6

VIDEO - 'I'm in a very tough spot:' Factory owner on Trump tariffs
The Trump administration's tariffs on imported steel and aluminum
are hitting close to home at a metal stamping plant in Cleveland.
(Simon Brubaker/The Washington Post)

CLEVELAND — 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 .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/03/01/white-house-planning-major-announcement-thursday-on-steel-and-aluminum-imports/?utm_term=.799a437f5704 .. sent the price of Stripmatic’s main raw material soaring.

In April, with prices up nearly 50 percent from October and the first wave of tariffs in place, Adler’s bid failed. His costs were too high.

Today, instead of taking business from China, Adler worries about hanging onto the work he has. He hopes that the president’s tariffs are just a negotiating tactic.

“It’s got to be short-term, or I’ve got to find another way to make a living,” Adler said, only half joking. “It’s going to be an ugly scenario if it doesn’t end quickly.”

Stripmatic’s plight is an example of the hidden costs of Trump’s “America First” protectionism. During decades of increasing globalization, leaders of both political parties reassured critics that the gains from trade were dispersed across myriad less-expensive products — and thus often difficult to identify — while the costs were obvious every time a factory closed.

More - https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/a-family-owned-factory-saw-a-chance-to-bring-us-jobs-back-from-china-then-trump-raised-tariffs/2018/06/06/93c30372-68d6-11e8-bf8c-f9ed2e672adf_story.html?utm_term=.4f6c4953b783