President Trump wants a 25% tariff put on steel imports, and 10% on aluminum. But how will that impact Hoosiers?
It depends on what you do for a living. It seems Fort Wayne-based Steel Dynamics Incorporated stands to benefit, but consultant Jon Cavanaugh tells ABC 21 the farming industry might end up being hurt by it.
“We produce in this country, more than we can use, particularly grains but also other things, so we have to export it,” Cavanaugh said.
That’s because China could end up slapping tariffs on American grain exports in retaliation to the President’s move. China buys 30% of soybeans made in the US alone… and there are also worries that the cost of things made with steel, like farming equipment, could go up as well.
“Which are terribly expensive, so they’re talking about the cost of their machinery going up and the price of their goods going down, so that has a major impact potentially for U.S. ag,” he adds.
Fort Wayne Metals CFO Troy Linder tells ABC 21 that foreign countries could end up charging tariffs of their own:
“As we sell to other countries, or try to sell to other countries, there could be a retaliation factor by those governments, that allow us to not be very competitive in those marketplaces.”
