Steel Tariffs

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that a tariff is a tax levied by a government on imports and exports, which can be a major source of revenue for governments but is usually used as a political and economic policy for the protection of domestic industries against foreign competition by making imported goods costlier than their domestic counterparts. The author points out that throughout U.S. history, various administrations have granted benefits to the country's steel and iron industry through high tariffs to keep the steel prices above the fair competitive levels; as a result of such pampering, the U.S. steel industry has failed to become economically efficient, has lacked innovation to remain competitive and been a notorious laggard in adopting new technology. The paper relates that the World Trade Organization (WTO) decision that the tariffs imposed by the U.S. government in March 2002 on steel imports was illegal because the U.S. tariffs on steel imports were illegal under global trade laws and because the U.S. had not sufficiently proven that cheap imports from overseas were the reason for the U.S. steel companies' problems.

Table of Contents
U.S. Steel Tariffs: Was it a Correct Decision?
Protective Tariffs: Main Beneficiaries and Losers
World Trade Organization on Steel Tariffs: Loss of U.S. Sovereignty? Why Did WTO Side with EU?
If All Tariffs on Steel are Removed

From the Paper:

"Lower tariffs result in greater international trade in which all the countries participating in such trade benefit through the economic principle of comparative advantage. Greater international trade, stimulated by lower tariffs, result in creation of wealth and higher economic growth rates for the participating countries. Recent real life examples of the dramatic benefits of free trade and reduced tariffs abound. Economies of Asian 'tiger' countries such as Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand that followed policies of low tariffs and few trade barriers in the 1990s experienced very high growth rates. On the other hand, economies such as India, and Cuba that put up high tariff regimes and protective barriers during the same period, stagnated."

More papers on Steel Tariffs:

• Persuasive Essay # 9046 : "U.S. Steel Tariffs"
• Research Paper # 8569 : "Government Intervention in the Steel Industry"
• Essay # 71905 : "Tariffs And Quotas"

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