U.S.-China trade war? Not many people in China think it's likely

Mar 8, 2018
While news of steel and aluminium tariffs have dominated the news in the U.S., in China the reaction has been subdued.
Chinese police officers watch a cargo ship at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province on March 8, 2018.
AFP/Getty Images

Trump grants tariff exemptions for Mexico and Canada

Mar 8, 2018
Imports from all other countries will face a 25 percent tariff for steel and 10 percent for aluminum.
President Donald Trump turns to outgoing National Economic Council Chairman Gary Cohn, center, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House today in Washington, D.C.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

What capacity do U.S. steel manufacturers have to meet demand if tariffs reduced imports?

Mar 7, 2018
President Donald Trump continues to press his case that imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports will add jobs and strengthen the industry. But some question whether steel manufacturers could meet demand if imports fell off.  According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. is the largest steel importer in the world, bringing […]

Are trade deficits bad for an economy?

Mar 6, 2018
President Donald Trump was back on the topic of trade today. Taking questions at the White House, he said that the United States “has been taken advantage of” on trade. And he doubled down on his promise to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. They are needed, he said, because of trade deficits. But […]

Texas could take a big hit if tariffs are introduced

Mar 6, 2018
President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on steel and aluminum would affect businesses in many part of the nation. Some states, though, would be affected more than others. A paper published today by  the Tax Foundation criticizes the president’s plans and says thatTexas would  be hit hardest if tariffs were imposed. How exactly? Click the audio […]

Trump trade tariffs could save some jobs, endanger others

Mar 5, 2018
Approximately 140,000 Americans now work in primary steel and aluminum production — down from approximately 230,000 in 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, according to Moody’s Analytics, more than 6 million Americans work in industries that use steel and aluminum to make other products, such as motor vehicles, aerospace, construction and metal […]

How seriously should the world take this tariff talk?

Mar 5, 2018
The tariffs President Donald Trump has been talking about could ignite a trade war.
Major stock indexes plunged following President Donald Trump's announcement that he was imposing a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum. 
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Are we moving away from a global free market?

Mar 2, 2018
We look at how tariffs could affect current trade deals after Trump's surprise announcement this week.
President Trump participates in a meeting with leaders of the steel and aluminum industries at the White House on March 1.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Steel broke Pittsburgh’s heart once. It won’t happen again

Mar 2, 2018
The Trump administration’s decision to slap stiff tariffs on imported aluminum and steel won’t make much difference to Pittsburgh. Nearly all the steel jobs in the city now are behind a desk. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Trump’s trade wars tweet theory

Mar 2, 2018
President Donald Trump tweeted that “trade wars are good, and easy to win,” adding that “when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade any more-we win big. It’s easy!” So, if you play that out a bit, looking at one of the countries we currently trade with, […]