Trump won many votes in industrial states like Michigan and Pennsylvania with a pledge to boost manufacturing and crack down on Chinese trade practices. When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Trump in Florida earlier this month, Trump raised the possibility of using trade as a lever to coax China to do more. Ross said that if the Commerce inquiry finds the US steel industry is suffering from too much steel imports, he will recommend retaliatory steps that could include tariffs. On Thursday shares of Steel Dynamics Inc, AK Steel Holding Corp, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc, Allegheny Technologies Inc and other steel makers closed between 4% and 8.5% higher. Experts were skeptical about the administration's argument that cheap Chinese steel threatened US national security.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 21, 2017 00:00 UTC