Trump's Steel Tariff Made One Industry Rich and Broke Everyone Who Actually Builds Things

By The Decision Room

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One year ago, Trump doubled the tariff on steel and aluminum to 50%, promising a manufacturing renaissance. The one-year report card is in, and it's not what he promised. American steel producers DID get richer — imports plummeted, domestic prices climbed above global levels, production and capacity utilization increased. But strip out the tariff, and American steel would run $363/ton more expensive than Italian steel, $361 more than German — meaning it's not actually competitive, it's propped up entirely by the wall itself. Everyone downstream got squeezed instead: the steel mill products index rose 13.3% in a year, aluminum mill shapes up 33%, lead times stretched to 6-8 months (multi-year highs), and construction costs climbed roughly 8% under current policy — with metal molding and trim surging nearly 50%. At least one major appliance manufacturer confirmed it would raise prices on refrigerators, dryers, and ovens specifically because of the tariff on their steel and aluminum con

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