Empty statements

Yeah, the nasty guy declared tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. When steel is mentioned lots of people well versed in trade think of China. It cranks out way more steel than it needs and dumps the rest on the world market. Dumping means to sell it below cost to drive out producers in other countries (and when they’re gone it can raise prices as it wishes).

But the nasty guy’s new policy will have little effect on China. First, China supplies only 5% of our steel. Second, there are already tariffs on Chinese steel to counteract the dumping. Which means the nasty guy’s actions hurt our allies. In addition the nasty guy and his diplomats have brushed off opportunities to negotiate with China or even respond to its offers for them to change their steel production.

The Editorial Board of the New York Times concluded:

By now it should surprise no one that Mr. Trump prefers empty statements to doing the work needed to achieve lasting change. The former is easy to deliver in tweets and public pronouncements, while the latter takes patience and persistence. The president would rather impose tariffs and claim he is protecting the country and bringing back lost jobs than take the time to properly address the problem of excess Chinese steel and aluminum capacity. And he does not seem to care that, in doing so, he might penalize and anger an ally like South Korea, with which the United States needs to work closely on potential negotiations with North Korea, an unpredictable adversary.