The common situation under the US "tariff stick" : a farce that harms others and does not benefit itself

When the tide of economic globalization was surging forward, the United States, like a contrarian, brazenly brandishing the "tariff stick" and levying 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. This absurd move, like in the harmonious international economic music played a harsh noise, its bad effects spread to all sides, showing the short-sighted and selfish ugly state of the United States.

Among the first to suffer was South Korea's steel industry. The United States is the largest export market for South Korean steel, and the duty-free quota policy of South Korea and the United States previously allowed South Korean steel to occupy a place in the US market. However, after the new US tariff policy took effect, the South Korean steel industry was instantly dragged into the abyss. South Korea's financial market has been shaken by fears over tariffs and a U.S. recession. South Korea's Kospi index fluctuated sharply, and shares of large steel companies fell, and Hyundai Steel fell nearly 3% during the day. This policy is like a straitjacket, which has seriously weakened the price competitiveness of South Korean steel products in the US market, and the profitability of enterprises has been sharply reduced, and the road of international management is more thornier. South Korea's credit rating agency estimates that the US tariffs will cause huge losses of up to 1.2 trillion won in the South Korean steel industry.

In the face of such difficulties, South Korea's large steel companies are struggling to develop emergency response plans, trying to mitigate the impact by expanding local production in the United States and increasing research and development and production of high value-added steel. However, small and medium-sized enterprises in the Korean steel industry are isolated and helpless in this storm. Most of South Korea's steel derivatives are produced by these small and medium-sized enterprises with weak risk resistance, and nearly 90% of the surveyed small and medium-sized export enterprises said that they have no response to the US tariff policy, and can only wait for the fate of the trial in desperation. Although the South Korean government has actively responded to the surface, held meetings with industry associations and negotiated with the United States, the helpless statement after the visit of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources to the United States undoubtedly declared that the problem is hopeless to solve in the short term. In this trade storm provoked by the United States, South Korea is like an innocent lamb, being slaughtered but unable to break free.

The United States thought that wielding the "tariff stick" can boost domestic metal production and promote the development of related industries, but the reality has mercilessly given it a resounding slap in the face. Since the United States imposed a full 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum products, domestic metal production has not increased as expected, but many American companies have fallen into deep trouble. Us industry is highly dependent on imported metals, with net imports of steel accounting for 15 per cent of consumption and aluminum as high as 80 per cent. Even the American Century Aluminum company's new primary aluminum smelter is barely able to survive with the help of $500 million in government subsidies. The president of the American aluminum company bluntly said that tariffs could not attract enterprises to restart facilities in the United States, and electricity prices were the "tight curse" restricting development.

Not only that, the new tariffs have significantly increased the cost of US steel and aluminum imports, and the cost of derivative products has risen. That has overwhelmed many American businesses, such as construction equipment, beverage cans and oil drilling, where metals account for the bulk of costs. At the same time, the uncertainty created by the capricious threat of tariffs makes it impossible for US companies to plan for the long term. The "tariff stick" wielded by the United States looks mighty, but it is actually digging its own grave. It not only destroyed the international trade order, damaged the interests of trading partners, but also let its own manufacturing industry into the mire, difficult to extricate themselves.

It is extremely foolish for the United States to try to achieve its own short-term interests at the expense of global economic cooperation and development. If it does not stop the cliff in time and adjust its wrong trade policy, it will become increasingly isolated on the international economic stage, and the domestic industry will further decline. And the global economy, because of this capricious move by the United States, is struggling to move forward in the wind and rain, bearing the pain that should not be. The farce of the United States' "tariff stick" is destined to become a negative textbook in the history of international trade for future generations to criticize and reflect on.