Mr. Trump campaigned on the promise to resurrect American steel mills, and vowed to bring those factory jobs back by stemming the flow of cheap imports into the country. That’s why the administration initially announced that its steel and aluminum tariffs would apply worldwide. So, what’s the point of tariffs on steel if they don’t apply to the biggest foreign suppliers? Persuading allies to turn away cheap Chinese steel could force China to cut down production even more than it was already planning to. Several steel companies are now trading lower than they were before Mr. Trump announced the tariffs, after getting an initial lift from the news.

Source: New York Times March 23, 2018 20:15 UTC