Chapter 9 Reflection
The effects of steel tariffs include prices being raised for consumer products like cars, nails, tractors, etc. It has had an effect on American firms because the tariffs did reduce how much steel was being imported but since the prices raised, it put American manufacturers at a disadvantage compared to foreign competition in steel. According to the article I found, “Tariffs are often presented as trading off domestic producer gains against consumer losses, but applying tariffs on goods used as inputs into production can magnify losses as price distortions pass through the supply chain.” (Cox and Russ) as well as the cause of steel tariffs, it will also affect industries that use aluminum and metals their jobs because the manufacturers will be paying more for steel or aluminum; they will need to lay off employees because it will reduce the amount of money they spend. If the steel or aluminum isn’t getting cheaper, the manufactory will need to find somewhere else to cut the cost being lost, which a lot of the time means reducing employees. so, steel and aluminum might be seeing a slight increase in jobs. The manufacturers that use steel or aluminum in their products are seeing the opposite, which is actually decreasing in jobs because of the tariffs on steel and aluminum. Foreign firms were helped, and the US firms were not. For my standpoint, I see a lot of negatives on tariffs that I would not recommend for the future; it's driving a lot of business out rather than bringing it in. Yes, I have been affected by tariffs; it may not be noticeable in my face, but I believe it affects anyone who is a consumer. For example, because of steel and aluminum tariffs, to purchase a car will be more expensive and the soda cans I buy in the store will have prices raised more than they used to before tariffs.
Citation
Cox, Lydia, and Katheryn Russ. “Steel tariffs hurt manufacturers downstream, data shows.” PBS News, 7 Feb. 2020, www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/making-sense/steel-tariffs-hurt-manufacturers-downstream-data-shows.