NPR

Protection For The Steel Industry Is As Old As America

The U.S. steel industry has enjoyed protection from foreign competitors since the 1790s. It says new import tariffs are actually just leveling the playing field and shouldn't be labeled "protection."
Steelworkers leave a plant at the end of their shift in Bethlehem, Pa., in 1947. Employment in the industry has declined by 80 percent from its peak six decades ago, according to author Douglas Irwin.

President Trump's tariffs on imported steel aren't the first time the industry has gotten protection from the U.S. government. Not by a long shot. In fact, tariff protection for the industry — which politicians often say is a vital national interest — goes back to the very beginning of the republic.

In his book, Clashing Over Commerce:, Dartmouth professor Douglas Irwin writes that protection for the metal producers began in the 1790s.

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