The economist has an article discussing the section 232 action and President Trump’s options. I’ve been reading a lot of these types of articles lately and I keep asking why is it that they are written in a way suggesting that America must justify protecting it’s own interests (i.e. domestic steel production, jobs, healthy middle class, open transparent fair business competition, etc.)?
Reuters has a similar (but much more neutral) article here. From the article:
Critics charge that using national security to erect steel tariffs could trigger a trade war with China
Tariffs wouldn’t be necessary if the Chinese government would privatize it’s industry and quit subsidizing it, as in honest, fair, competition.
undermine the global rules-based trading system
The global rules-based trading system isn’t working. American steel companies have to compete with a communist state.
and hurt U.S. allies more than China
Only if we allow it to. It doesn’t have to.
and damage global growth prospects.
And maybe America protecting it’s interests will result in a cosmic planetary collision, but there’s a lot of uncertainty in that conclusion.