The last time a commercial war took place in the United States, things did not go well for the economy. Will history repeat itself while Trump imposes a tariff on steel and aluminum? Here are the facts.
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Steel factory in Baytown, Texas (Photo: David J. Phillip / AP)

Bullets fly in the intensification The US trade war with other world powers and victims begin to rise – in layoffs, reduced work hours and profits of thin companies.

Although the damages were limited until here, they would spread quickly if the Trump administration threatened its tariffs, economists say. President Trump stepped up the fight Friday with new tariffs on $ 34 billion of Chinese imports.

"It hurts the economy but so far it's manageable," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "If the war continues to intensify, it will do more damage and at some point it will undermine the good economy" and trigger a recession.

Trans-Matic, of Holland, Mich, shapes metal, mainly in auto parts, as well as components for door locks. It has paid higher steel costs for several months as US steelmakers raise prices in anticipation of higher US metal import tariffs, says Steve Patterson, chief financial officer of the company

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Trans-Matic pbaded on the price increases to its customers reduced orders, reducing Trans-Matic's revenue in this key sector from 5% to 10%, says Patterson. As a result, the company gives its 300 US employees about five hours a week in overtime instead of their usual 10.

"When you take them out … they become cranky," he says. And with a low unemployment rate creating a tight labor market that gives more weight to workers, Patterson worries that Trans-Matic employees will be able to turn to competitors. Last month, the United States imposed a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum imported from Canada, Mexico and the European Union for the purpose. to fight President Trump. characterized the dumping of these products in the United States as below market prices. These countries responded in kind. The EU has imposed duties on 3.2 billion US dollars of goods, including bourbon, motorcycles and steel products. Canada has imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of metals, agricultural products and other US goods. And Mexico is targeting American products like cheese, apples, blueberries, pork belly and steel. [19659089] To find out more: Trump launches $ 34 billion trade war and China recedes [19659008] To find out more: June Jobs Report: US economy adds 213,000 jobs but unemployment reaches 4%

To learn more: These fees followed US tariffs in the spring on Chinese imports of steel and steel. 39, aluminum and Chinese counter-tariffs on US $ 3 billion products, including pork, fruit, ethanol and scrap metal. After the EU imposed a 31% tariff on motorcycles, the iconic Harley-Davidson said it would move its production overseas, triggering a war of words with Trump.

In Poplar Bluff, MO. Mid-Continent Nail, the country's largest nail manufacturer, fired 60 workers last month. Sales dropped 70% after Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel from Mexico and Canada. When the company increased its prices, customers defected. According to company spokeswoman Elizabeth Heaton, the Mid-Continent is seriously considering a second round of 200 layoffs and the 500 employees could be eliminated on Labor Day.

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President Trump says that the era of "free-world loading" over. He told travelers in Fargo, North Dakota, that his tariff impbade with China, the European Union and Canada was aimed at correcting the "disastrous trade deals" of his predecessors. (June 28)
AP

The company's woes are going through the region. SEMO Box, a Cape Girardeau packaging company, has announced that it would lay off four temporary workers due to the slowdown in the Mid-Continent, according to Mid-Continent and the Associated Press. In Phoenix, Greg Hankerson, co-owner of Vintage Industrial, which manufactures custom steel furniture, says the 25% tariff on imported steel has pushed up the costs of raw materials, which has forced to raise prices. five to ten percent earlier this year for various items, with more price increases possible.

In Wisconsin, the dairy industry went from $ 387 million in Mexican duties to 15 to 25 percent on American cheese. Pete Hardin, publisher of Milkweed, an industry publication, says that cheese and butter wholesale prices have collapsed recently, buyers and sellers worrying about the effects of tariffs [19659022]. income on a monthly basis, "he says.This is because it's dangerous this mess."

This is because dairy farmers have begun to reduce their prices to wholesalers for compensate for higher tariffs, reducing their profits. State farmers were already struggling because of a surplus of milk.

Another 25% cycle of US duties on $ 34 billion of Chinese imports took effect Friday and includes medical devices, auto parts and industrial machinery. The measures aim to combat what the administration officials say is the theft of US intellectual property by China and its insistence that companies disclose valuable technologies to enter the Chinese market. Beijing is back with rights over US meat, seafood and SUVs, among other products. Additional fees of $ 16 billion are expected from both sides this summer

Over the next year, all of these rates are expected to result in the loss of about 170,000 jobs and a tenth point of economic growth. , Zandi estimates. But Trump has threatened an additional $ 400 billion of duties on Chinese shipments to the United States and $ 275 billion in auto imports. According to him, total job losses would rise to 700,000 and economic growth to half a percentage point, which would likely bring the country into recession

Contributed by: Rick Barrett of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Russ Wiles from Arizona [19659034] CLOSE