American Fabrication Academy

The Impacts of Tariffs on Stampers and Other Metal Consumers

The tariffs imposed recently by the United States President on the import of steel and aluminum from foreign dealers to propagate an ‘America First’ policy has been received with mixed reviews. The primary aim of this strategy is to motivate (and steer) U.S. industries and companies towards American supply companies to fulfill their requirements of aluminum and steel to essentially reach the end goal of achieving an eighty percent of capacity utilization in the economy.

On paper, this policy sounds really good – and it since is making the industrial economy more self-sufficient and self – reliant in terms of boosting the production and consumption capacity. This move by the United States President has garnered many praises from leading industrialists and other front-runners in the industry. However, in reality, this policy has been analyzed to have more drawbacks than any actual advantages, for both the consumers and manufacturers alike.

Impact of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminium

So, before the tariffs regarding steel and aluminum were hiked, the general practice of the industries and other companies was to import it from foreign partners. Among the leading (and largest) trade partners, until the last year 2018, of United States were Mexico, Canada, and the European Union which supplied steel and aluminum at relatively affordable rates but now, with the focus more on American suppliers, many market analysts have found that this policy will have the following after effects:

  • The cost of home-based suppliers is ten times higher, making the manufacturer go for steel and other like resources which are available at the cheapest cost. This is going to greatly affect the quality of products, like cars and other related appliances, made by such manufacturers.
  • With the costs of production increased, it is obvious that the prices of products will also be increased, not only will the customers have to spend big bucks to buy any with steel or aluminum in it, many industries and companies also stand to lose a large part of its consumer base.
  • With the going trends in the economy and market practices in general, a higher tariff rate will definitely (and obviously) lead to smaller profits for manufacturers since most of their resources will be spent in just getting the supplies only.

The tentative aftereffects of this policy can be seen as the following:

  • The quality of products is bound to take a definite nosedive since most manufacturers will prefer steel and aluminum gotten as economically priced as possible.
  • Consumers will be forced to pay a higher amount for the same product previously gotten at much lower prices. This rise will mainly be due to the increased costs of production. On top of that, there are no guarantees or assurances available when it comes to the quality of the product.

Bottomline

It is clear from the above mentioned situation that this policy is clearly a lose-lose situation with no clear winner in the picture except perhaps the supplier. There is a need to stipulate definite terms which will protect the interests of consumers as well as manufacturers.

Leave a comment if you enjoy our first article covering the politics that go into metal fabrication!

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