Just about everyone has felt the effect of a slow economy over the past two years. Manufacturing has been hit especially hard. Lay off's have effected many people for at least a short amount of time during this period, but thankfully, there seems to be some relief ahead, as more and more people are being called back to work. In some cases, they are even working overtime to meet demands. Unfortunately, the Steel industry has been suffering through their own slow down for much longer, and there doesn't appear to be any relief in sight, unless the tariffs on imported steel that the Bush white house has imposed, make a difference.
Many believe that the root problem of the steel industry is cheap foreign steel being dumped into the domestic market, making in very difficult for American firms to compete. In regards to this alleged dumping, President Bush recently stated that, "I called upon the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate the impact of imports on the U.S. Steel Industry under section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act. The ITC subsequently found that increased steel imports are a substantial cause of serious injury to our domestic industry" (Bush statement). Government, Unions, Corporations, and the public all debate about what the government's response should be. Bush has imposed tariffs on the imported steel to help the steel industry. He stated that, "The U.S. Steel Industry must use the temporary help today's action provides to re-structure and ensure its long-term competitiveness" (Bush statement). However, will this temporary relief be temporary? Will it provide relief for the Steel Industry, while not affecting other Industries? Is it truly a measure to help the industry or is it simply a political move on the part of the Bush team?.
It has been repeatedly stated that this is only a temporary move. In fact, Treasury Secretary Paul O"Neill recently said that, "tariffs are not a long term solution and that the industry needs to restructure" (Bush, Treasury chief said to differ on steel).
