Steel Industry Import Taxes

When we raised the steel import tax a few yearsclosed to sell their energy contracts to other
ago it hurt many manufacturing sectors who usedcompanies and stay closed, thus who are we helping?
steel in their production. It also hurt smallerCertainly not my team; we will now see jobs for cars
companies, which use steel in their products. US Steeland etc move to Mexico and China this would also be
prices have cost our team thousands of extra dollarsfor tractors and heavy industry trucks and trailer
due to the import taxes that were imposed. We toldmanufacturers.If we help one industry temporarily
everyone if they raise the cost of steel even oneand then give away jobs and factory capacity to
hundred dollars per ton we will seek to build the truckother countries for no reason. We are tilting more
beds out of other materials, and once we do we willthan one field by doing this. As a matter of fact we
never go back to steel. It is heavy, costs gasare not going to stand for these increases at all.
mileage, rusts, leaving iron oxide streaks on theScrew that, it affects our team at a time when we
exterior paint. It is by the cost we even still useare creating jobs and all of us entrepreneurs are
steel.If the steel companies in this country cannot runtrying to dig ourselves out of the recession. It is
more efficient and get their labor unions to performgood to see that administration was able to re-look
efficiently then one should not expect the public toat this issue as early as July to lower the import tax
support that industry or buy their products. We canand eventually get rid of it soon after in that first
build the truck beds out of fiberglass, plastic oryear of increased tariff taxes. Then we can get the
composite. We will be able to build uni-body shells andentire South American countries on our team as
make them more ascetically pleasing. So thetrade partners, we may need them.As far as orange
administration and the steel industry better get theirjuice, we can justify restrictions for reasons of fruit
act together. The auto industry also took a hit andflies, but for steel, I am not sure we can justify this
many of the cars are moving to lighter materials andnow because we did not sign the Kyoto Treaty and
they will not go back once they do because thenow we are stating we cannot buy Brazilian steel due
mileage savings in efficiency is important also.Weto the methods of manufacturing hurting the
need Brazil as a trading partner; we need Japan'senvironment, hypocritical tactic, we should not go
economy to return to growth. We should not give athere. Besides we have technology, cheap
crutch to an industry that is not innovative and letstechnology to prevent these pollutants anyway, all
their workers kick back and do little if any work. Thewe need to do is see they are in place and let them
steel union is strong and they do not believe in hardinto the market to keep our steel industry on their
work ethic like the competition in their industry. Wefeet and from getting lazy, costing our manufacturing
should not support laziness and give a company anof truck beds too much, thus hurting our ability to
edge. Giving away free fish makes even the best ofcreate jobs by giving our team the incentive to
us lazy. This problem is affecting our team andrealize a fair profit in a time when many small
costing our franchisees money and ROI time, due tocompanies are going out of business and large ones
increased costs in new equipment. That hurts theirskipping the nuisance of paying bills in their accounts
families and their ability to grow their businesses. Thepayable departments by filing bankruptcy, Kmart,
import tax of 50% on steel, hurts the rest of thePG&E, Enron, Global Crossing and others in the news
economy, it hurts my team at a time when we needlately. We cannot dig out America if we are
better prices. This creates a monopoly on steel for acontinually forcing more costs on other industries that
couple of steel companies who are planning a merger.need help too. Such as the truck building industry, rail
I am upset that we are attacking Americancar industry, even garbage truck construction is
companies who have won the market by servingdown 30%, school buses, bridges and infrastructure.
customers and giving them what they want as we allSteel is used for lots of things and there is significant
vote with our dollar and then the governmentvolumes; what was the problem with the industry
creates monopolies at the same time. So of coursethat they could not make a profit if they had a little
monopolies are Good as long as the governmentcompetition? Strong survive and that is a
creates them. We are glad to see that these steelfundamental basic of free markets. Think about
companies are now able to produce steel now thatit.Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board.
the prices are up, yet some of these steel mills are