FABTECH 2019: Section 232 steel tariffs winners, losers in metal fabrication
In March of 2018, President Donald Trump tweeted: “Our Steel and Aluminum industries (and many others) have been decimated by decades of unfair trade and bad policy with countries from around the world. We must not let our country, companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer. We want free, fair and SMART TRADE!”
And so began the march toward tariffs designed to revitalize American producers and reclaim U.S. based jobs. Good intentioned? Potentially, but the impact will undeniably have an effect on metal manufacturing, including: increased prices of steel and aluminum, complex government processes and supply chain shifts affecting everything from automobile manufacturing to soda can production. This results in compromised buying power of companies and consumers that rely on metal products to run their businesses, job creation and workforce gaps, and a predicted increase of robotics and automation manufacturing.
In fact, 32 percent of FABTECH 2018 attendees indicated in a survey hosted by FABTECH that they expect tariffs to more directly impact their companies in the next two years. While not an immediate disruption, FABTECH is focused on supporting the industry with education and planning for the future.