Before Donald Trump, George W Bush tried steel tariffs but it didn't work

President Donald Trump finally followed through on his almost year-old threat to restrict imports of foreign steel.

On March 8, the president slapped a 25 percent tariff on the metal, while also putting a 10 percent duty on foreign aluminum. After initially suggesting there’d be no exceptions, Trump promised to be “very flexible” and initially exempted Mexico and Canada from the duties, which are set to go into effect in 15 days.

While Trump cited “national security” as the impetus, he’s been vowing since the campaign to use trade policy to restore jobs to the American manufacturing sector, which has suffered in recent decades. The steel sector, for example, supported as many as 650,000 American workers in the 1950s, yet now employs only about 140,000.

My research focuses on the politics of trade and what prompts political leaders to impose restrictions like tariffs. The last time a president slapped tariffs on steel offers an illuminating lesson – and cautionary tale – for Trump’s new policy.

The Bush steel tariffs

In early 2002, then-President George W Bush imposed steel tariffs of up to 30 percent on imports of steel in an effort to shore up domestic producers against low-cost imports.

These tariffs were controversial both at home and abroad because, even as they helped steelmakers, they squeezed steel users, such as the auto industry.

They were also seen as hypocritical at a time when the Republican administration was trying to encourage other countries to liberalize trade policies – and reduce their tariffs – through the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks that were happening at the time.

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