Unfortunately business doesn't usually care about quality. They buy the crappy Asian/Mexican steel because they have to to compete with the other guys. How it works out is most massive construction projects are performed by the lowest bidder (who bids lowest because he uses the cheapest material), so quality suffers. It's the great irony of how the things we rely on daily--bridges, buildings, signs and almost our entire infastructure--are built by the lowest bidder.
As a result of the way contracts are awarded, large scale steel companies (like say LTV) cannot really use quality as a means of selling their product. This works for small-time mills but not for major producers. What it boils down to is American companies that pay a living wage and hence have high fixed costs cannot compete with foreign companies who don't need to pay their workers so much. Should the US steel industry be allowed to collapse simply because the standard of living in other countries is so much lower?
How can you call it competition when one side has an impossibly large advantage?
Also, the argument that using higher-priced steel will result in goods costing more is false. Goods such as cars are priced based on what the market will pay for them, NOT based on how much they cost to build. GMC, for example, actually loses money on most of its small cars simply because they can't sell them at a profitable price (this is why automakers love SUV's, they use old technology and yet people pay a lot for them). Remember, pricing is based on what the customer will pay, not on how much it costs you to build the goods (another example is soda pop, it costs only about a nickel a can to make yet retails for 50 cents or more because that's what people are willing to pay). Companies won't be able to just raise their prices because their costs increased slightly (and it IS only a slight difference in the final cost) because the market won't bear it.
The main effect that this tariff might have is slightly lower profit margins for steel-using industries; consumer prices shouldn't be seriously affected and the overall economic effect on profitability of steel-using industries will be more than outweighed by the fact that the remaining domestic steel companies won't fold up.
Lastly, I agree that the US government is being hypocritical here. My opinion is globalization is the mistake and protection of American assets is the best course of action. Naturally I'd expect residents of other countries to have exactly the opposite opinion, and I hold no grudge for it. Everyone wants what's best for their country.
J_A_B
