I have no sympathy. You voted for this, guys. This is the country you wanted. You wanted Joe Biden to overhaul the economic agenda. No more mean tweets, but now there’s rising inflation, anemic jobs growth, a border crisis, and a war brewing in the Middle East. Russia has become aggressive again, and China is getting more handsy with Taiwan. But there are no more mean tweets. For those in the steel industry, they’re pleading with Biden to keep the tariffs established under Donald Trump intact (via The Hill):
Seven major groups representing steel producers and workers are urging President Biden to keep tariffs on foreign steel that former President Trump enacted intact.
"The tariffs were necessitated by repeated surges in steel imports driven by global steel overcapacity that threatened our industry and the nearly two million jobs it supports," the groups, which include the United Steelworkers, Steel Manufacturing Association and American Iron and Steel Institute, among others, wrote in a joint letter to Biden.
"The tariffs have been a success, allowing our industry to restart idled mills, rehire laid-off workers and invest in the future," they added.
Trump imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum in 2018 as part of his aggressive trade agenda, setting off a trade war with many close U.S. allies, who imposed their own counter-tariffs on U.S. goods.
— Biden Voters Posting Their L's Online (@BidenLs) May 19, 2021
Again, you guys wanted a Trump-free America, which included consumer and small business confidence reaching its highest levels in years, the lowest unemployment levels in a half-century across the board, 3+ million new jobs, bonuses, and the tax cuts that largely benefitted the middle class. They’re so good that even Biden is looking to make them permanent. He’s also keeping the SALT caps under Trump. Why? Well, because nixing it would be a huge giveaway to the wealthy in blue states. A lot of Americans didn’t like Trump’s personality, but they liked his policies. They opted to boot him over the former and sacrificed economic vibrancy in the process. This is your guy, fellas. Deal with the consequences.