A lot of people criticize Trump for increasing tariffs on steel imports to 50%, from 25%, but personally I understand his reasoning and I’m not upset with his decision.
Consider the facts that the American steel industry is in dire straits. China produces well over half of the world’s steel and the US, once a giant in the industry has now fallen to the fourth place and is now only a shadow of its former self. This is not mere statistics, no, factories have shut down, employees are refused work, and once these jobs are lost they’re permanently gone.
There were plenty of reasons why Trump’s rally in Pittsburgh had steelworkers in the audience.
And regarding steel, he’s not just talking. Unlike some of his other claims, this one has some backing to it. There is supposedly $14 million coming in for investment into local steel production from Nippon Steel in collaboration with US Steel. Sure, nobody has come forward to explain if this deal is even official, or how these proposed plans really work, but at least such promises give people some hope that things can change for the better.
Imagine having the president announce that every steelworker will get a $5000 bonus while also claiming that no one would be let go. Of course those are some big claims and yes, people have every reason to be cautious. But like it or not, he is at least trying to solve some genuine problems people are facing.
I know people are concerned that these tariffs might cause further trade conflicts, and there obviously is a potential danger in this. But if the other possibility is leaving China unchecked to undermine what remains of American manufacturing, then I support retaliatory measures even if it disrupts international trade relations.
https://www.youtube.com/live/SknttvrOHXU?si=CW0tK-VRp7XrDmuR
All the images used in my blog was generated by me using the o4 model of Chatgpt.
