DiscoverCato PodcastThe $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails
The $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails

The $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails

Update: 2025-11-04
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For 60 years, the U.S. government has protected the steel industry through tariffs, quotas, and Buy American mandates. Yet steel costs remain among the highest globally, and protectionism has extracted a staggering price: $650,000 in economic damage for every steel job saved, and 75,000 manufacturing jobs lost in 2019 alone. Cato's Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon investigate why protectionism failed and what market-based solutions would actually work.


Show Notes:

https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/steeled-protectionism


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The $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails

The $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails