Trump tariffs put US manufacturing on course for mass job losses: metals expert
President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs will have a negative impact on U.S. manufacturers and average consumers, metal industry expert Lew Weiss told FOX Business on Friday.
He said the tariffs boost one industry at the expense of the others.
“There’s only one industry in the whole country that is enjoying the benefit -- and that’s the steel industry,” Weiss said to Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria.”
The U.S. tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and aluminum went into effect on March 23 and were imposed on Europe, Canada and Mexico.
They retaliated against the U.S. with duties on billions of dollars of American goods, ranging from pork and cranberries to bourbon and motorcycles.
But U.S. manufacturing is still booming even though the tariffs deliver a murky future for the industry, Weiss said.
The Tax Foundation estimates the cost to American firms could be as much as $9 billion in 2018.
Since Trump took office, more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs have been created and manufacturing employment remains at its highest level since December 2008, the White House said.
But Weiss estimates about 400,000 jobs will be lost as a result of the tariffs.