President Trump's tariffs are not a simple job-preservation measure, writes Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers.
China also circumvents penalties by trans-shipping, or sending the metals to a third country where nothing is changed but the origin labels. And now China is building, buying and subsidizing mills all over the world. Metal marked “Made in Serbia” or “Made in Indonesia” escapes penalties on the metal made in China, even when it was produced with the same market-distorting Chinese subsidies. The Trump administration’s blanket tariffs address this whack-a-mole problem.
Canada, a close U.S. ally and economic doppelganger, should be exempt from the tariffs. But more generally, the Trump administration is right that they are crucial to security.