Replies to post #2927 on Cleveland Cliffs Inc (CLF)

[Saving Grace]

NAFTA destroyed the jobs as manufacturers left as tarriffs were applied to american goods in 2002 not the other way around.

[Democritus_of_Abdera]

Re: Steel Tariff & Section 232…

It looks like Trump is backing away from (or at least substantially delaying) implementation of Section 232 to restrict steel imports. … but it might not matter, continued uncertainty may reduce imports if traders fear being hit with a retroactive tariff.

see: https://firenewsfeed.com/politics/292015

Selected quotes:

“[W]e’re waiting till we get everything finished up between health care and taxes and maybe even infrastructure,” the president told the Wall Street Journal.
…
But both political and practical obstacles have delayed the decision. Foreign allies that export steel to the United States and U.S. companies who would see their costs rise because of the measure have opposed the plan, as well as some administration officials who fear triggering a trade war.
….
Gathering the data necessary for the decision also appears to be more difficult than the administration foresaw. Steel companies were still getting requests for information from the Department of Commerce as recently as last week, said steel industry source, who declined to be named to discuss private conversations.
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“President Trump made a promise to America’s steelworkers, and there is certainly going to be disappointment with this delay,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which represents steel workers and steel companies.
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Some who had lobbied against the tariffs greeted the president’s more measured approach. But John Foster, a steel trader who has opposed the tariffs, said postponing the choice “leaves a cloud of uncertainty that is almost as paralyzing as a bad decision.” He said that imports of steel have already fallen off, since traders fear being hit with a retroactive tariff.
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Among the strongest voices against the measure were U.S. farmers, who feared retaliation from foreign countries. Agricultural products are among America's largest exports to the European Union and other major U.S. steel trading partners, who have said they would retaliate against trade measures they see as unjust.
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Under the law, the administration has 270 days to complete the report – giving it until January 2018. But both Trump and Ross had pushed for a much earlier result.