President Trump: Tariffs have rebuilt our steel industry

In a tweet released today, the president says the U.S. steel industry is 'booming!'

This morning, President Trump took the tweet equivalent of a victory lap with claims that the U.S. steel industry has been "rebuilt" thanks to the steel tariffs he enacted last year:

“In one year Tariffs have rebuilt our Steel Industry - it is booming! We placed a 25% Tariff on ‘dumped’ steel from China & other countries, and we now have a big and growing industry. We had to save Steel for our defense and auto industries, both of which are coming back strong!”

That tweet was followed by a stream of other tweets that boasted claims that the U.S. is in a "better position" to negotiate a trade deal than China (as a trade war looms) and jobs are returning to the U.S. "where they belong":

Billions of Dollars, and moving jobs back to the USA where they belong. Other countries are already negotiating with us because they don’t want this to happen to them. They must be a part of USA action. This should have been done by our leaders many years ago. Enjoy!

As reported by The Washington Post, 12,700 jobs have been created or saved at steel and aluminum factories since the steel tariffs were enacted last year. However, for every job created in the steel industry, it will cost U.S. consumers $900,000, according to calculations by the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

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Emell Derra Adolphus has more than a decade of writing and journalism experience. He is senior editor of ENR’s Top Lists and Survey Rankings at ENR magazine and frequently contributes stories on technology, climate resiliency, diversity, equity and inclusion.