Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
December 14, 2015
A thank you to Keith Gunter of McElroy for sharing his annual Christmas poem for the steel industry with us. If you have anything you would like to share (tastefully) with the industry please feel free to forward them to my attention: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
We just confirmed our last couple of speakers for our new Leadership Summit Conference which will be held in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on March 7-9, 2016 (PGA National Resort & Spa). We will roll it out on our website tomorrow (Wednesday) and we will have a complete article about the process and the program in Thursday evening’s issue of SMU. I highly recommend the conference for executives associated with manufacturing, distribution and trading. We think we have put the bar at a new level both in content and experience. Registration is open on a first come, first served basis. If you have any questions please feel free to contact either myself or Ray Culley (John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or Ray.Culley@SteelMarketUpdate.com).
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
From one group of folks, I’ve heard that Trump might not wait until Feb. 1 – the date he threatened on to place tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. They say he could act as soon as Friday. And then there are those who don’t think anything will happen before April 1. That’s the deadline for Commerce, Treasury, and USTR to submit key reports on “America First Trade Policy” to President Trump.
Final Thoughts
Trump made a clarification in a speech on Monday. Previously, he had declared the word “tariff” the most beautiful word in the dictionary. No longer.
Final Thoughts
President Donald Trump on Sunday hammered Colombia with 25% tariffs and threatened to increase them to 50%. Trump in a post on Truth Social said he took the action not because of a trade dispute but because the South American nation had refused to accept planes carrying deported immigrants. The president also cited "national security" concerns, just as he did to justify 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel in his first term. Even the 50% threat echoes his first term. Turkish steel, like that of most nations, was assessed a 25% tariff in March 2018. Trump doubled Turkey's tariff to 50% via a tweet in August of that year over a matter unrelated to steel.
Final Thoughts
We surveyed many of you this week and asked what you wanted to see from the new Trump administration. Responses were varied but fell largely into three groups: tariffs and trade policy, the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, and those who are concerned about too much government sway in steel. Some also expressed hope that President Trump would continue the infrastructure spending that began under former President Biden.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes new presidential administrations hit the ground running. No time for change like the present. And sometimes new administrations blast off on a SpaceX rocket bound for Mars. There’s a big universe, and we’ve got a lot of flags to plant. Such seems to be the case with the new Trump administration.