On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that he was raising his 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum to 50%. While he argued this was necessary to protect American steel manufacturing, one of the nation's leading newspapers of record is warning it could actually end up putting thousands of Americans out of work.
The Washington Post editorial board is now arguing that the economic impact of Trump's tariffs could be felt for years, even if the tariffs are only in place temporarily. The paper pointed to relatively recent historical precedent, when former President George W. Bush imposed tariffs on imported steel products of 8% to 30% on every country save for Canada, Israel, Jordan and Mexico. According to a study by the Tax Foundation, any positive outcome the Bush administration hoped to create for the American steel industry was overshadowed by the massive blow to the economy as a result of the tariffs.
"A study of Bush’s 2002 tariffs found that rising steel prices cost 200,000 jobs across the economy, more than the total number of workers producing steel at the time," the Post wrote. "Another study, by economists at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, estimated that tariffs on steel and aluminum imports imposed in March 2018, during Trump’s first term, added maybe 1,000 jobs in steel production by mid-2019, but cost some 75,000 jobs in manufacturing writ large."
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"It’s hard to understate the damage [the new steel tariffs] will inflict," the editorial board added.
The Post bolstered its argument by pointing to all of the American industries that depend on a plentiful supply of steel to operate. This includes manufacturers of "auto parts and motorcycles, farm machinery, mining equipment, oil extraction tools, batteries and military vehicles," among others.
"Ensuring ample, affordable steel supply is a national security imperative; all the more reason to promote — rather than poison — ties with friendly steel manufacturing countries such as Canada," the Post wrote.
The paper didn't spare former President Joe Biden's administration from criticism either, pointing out that he chose to intervene to stop the $14 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese company Nippon Steel as part of his failed bid to keep Pennsylvania from turning red last November. The editorial board argued that the deal would have helped "boost steel production and protect steelworker jobs," and lauded Trump for reversing Biden's decision. However, it warned that the details of Trump's new agreement still leave the company "at the mercy of an increasingly capricious U.S. government." The Post warned that Trump's new steel tariffs will likely lead to "less freedom and less prosperity" for the American economy at large.
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Click here to read the Post's editorial in its entirety (subscription required).