Trump Started Trade War Because He Was Angry

[Chicks]

Steel industry begins to idle plants, shows signs of weakness — despite Donny’s support

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...rumps-support/

U.S. Steel announced it will temporarily halt production at two domestic plants despite the boost from the Trump administration’s tariffs, as a steel industry singled out for federal support shows signs of weakening.

On Tuesday, U.S. Steel said it would temporarily halt operations at a blast furnace near Detroit as well as one in Gary, Ind., on the shore of Lake Michigan. U.S. Steel will be idling a third plant in Europe, the company said.

The closure runs in sharp contrast to the narrative President Trump has offered about the steel industry. Tuesday night in Orlando, as he formally announced he was running for reelection, Trump boasted about helping the steel industry through the use of tariffs on imports.

“Thanks to our tariffs, American steel mills are roaring back to life, you know that,” he said.

The moves come amid broader concerns about a slowdown in the steel industry, which threatens to derail a key economic priority of the Trump administration. Despite initially surging under the tariffs, steel prices have fallen dramatically amid weakening demand from key consumers, including the auto industry, energy industry and agricultural industry, said Phil Gibbs, a steel industry analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Prices of hot-rolled coil — a key metric of steel prices — have fallen from their peak last year of $900 a short ton to less than $600 a short ton, said James Moss, a steel industry consultant at First River Consulting based in Pittsburgh.

So much winning! MAGA!