May 7, 2019

Report: Trump's steel tariffs are costing Americans $900,000 per job created

Rashaan Ayesh

Molten furnace in a steel mill. Photo: Caiaimage/Agnieszka Olek

President Trump's steel tariffs are costing American consumers $900,000 for every job the tariffs have created or saved, the Washington Post reports, citing experts at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

By the numbers: U.S. companies have been paying roughly 10% more for steel since Trump's tariffs went into effect nearly a year ago, amounting to about $11.5 billion per year, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The Alliance for American Manufacturing claims that more than 12,700 jobs have been created or saved because of Trump's tariffs, which is how the experts came to the $900,000 per job figure. Peterson senior fellow Gary Hufbauer says that the number is so high because steel is "a very capital intensive industry" that doesn't employ many workers.

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  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 855,007 — Total deaths: 42,032 — Total recoveries: 176,714.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in confirmed cases. Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 186,265 — Total deaths: 3,810 — Total recoveries: 6,910.
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  5. Federal government latest: President Trump said the next two weeks would be "very painful" on Tuesday, with projections indicating the virus could kill 100,000–240,000 Americans. The White House and other institutions are observing several models to help prepare for when COVID-19 is expected to peak in the U.S.
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