Does Foreign Steel Threaten U.S. National Security?

Surrounded by top steel executives in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump gave a speech in April that painted a grim picture of the U.S. steel industry. For decades, he said, American steel companies have been under siege from foreign competitors “who have made a living off taking advantage” of lax trade laws, flooding the U.S. with cheap steel and leading to shuttered mills and widespread layoffs.

The reality for the industry isn’t quite so dire. In 2016 the stock prices of the two biggest U.S. steel producers rose the greatest amount in at least a decade, as a raft of trade cases resulted in tariffs on imports from China and other countries. But Trump insisted something larger was at stake. “It’s not just the pricing, it’s not just employment, it also has to do with the national security of our country,” he said.