Bush says his steel tariffs worked and can now be repealed (yes, we are supposed to believe the repeal has nothing to do with the WTO and the impending trade war). Worked in what sense? The US government assumed up to $11 billion pension obligations, so those liabilities are now borne by the taxpayer. And Forbes reports that US steel production fell between Oct 2002 and Oct 2003 by 6.7%—despite the tariffs. Clearly this is part of a long term trend. Also, what happens when steel prices fall back to January 2002 levels? The tariffs went into effect March 2002.
