With the newly announced sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum, the world’s economy is in for a big upheaval. Many manufactured goods in the United States of America depend on steel and aluminum. With the changes in tariffs and subsequent international reactions, the prices of manufactured goods could change significantly.
Increased Tariffs
The reason for the change in tariffs is to promote the usage of domestic steel and aluminum and revive this industry. Steel and aluminum have been one of the top imports for the United States. Steel made in another country and shipped to the United States will be now subject to a 25% tax. Imported aluminum will be taxed 10% at the US border. While this promotes the domestic steel industry, the prices of goods that use steel and aluminum can drastically change.
Increase in Prices of Manufactured Goods
The whole idea of increasing these tariffs is so that it would become profitable to make more steel and aluminum domestically. Theoretically, this would give rise to more jobs and help the US economy. However, the automotive industry relies heavily on steel. Additionally, a lot of everyday products use steel and aluminum. Manufacturers will have to incur additional costs in order to make changes to their steel suppliers and possibly make operational and process changes. Eventually, this will cause an increase in the prices of manufactured goods. Those price increases are then going to be passed on to consumers.
World Economy
Some of the top countries that send steel and aluminum to the United States of America are Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, the UAE, and China. With the increased tariffs on steel and aluminum, these countries are going to possibly increase tariffs on some of the US goods being exported to them, such as agricultural products or aircraft. This is going to start a chain reaction and upheaval in the world economy for sure.
LTC Roll and Engineering has been southeast Michigan’s center for roll forming excellence. We supply excellent custom tooling and precision-built roll forming tools that have helped numerous vehicles. Major international automotive manufacturers and their suppliers know that we can be counted on for consistent excellence in manufacturing, components, and assemblies. We are aware of the new tariffs and doing our best to adapt while keeping the quality of our products in mind.
For your next automotive program, please call LTC Roll and Engineering at 586-465-1023. We are the company who has been manufacturing roll formed, in-line welded, stamped, tool design and build, welding and assembly for 50 years and still rolling!
