The tariffs recently imposed by the United States against a number of types of steel imports were a foreign policy and economic blunder (News, March 5).
Imposed to protect 160,000 steelworker jobs and an industry that hasn’t taken advantage of previous protectionist measures, these tariffs have brought protests from our anti-terrorism allies in the European Union, which threaten to retaliate with their own tariffs and bring a case against us before the World Trade Organization.
Meanwhile we American consumers of steel products will have to pay higher prices, and jobs relating to making these products may be lost. When is this country going to learn that it should be run for the benefit of its total population and foreign-policy interests, not for the benefit of special-interest groups?
