B) The price data indicate no real effect, hence no "tax". The bellyahcing by some is a lot of nonesense.
LOL. The US Steel industry is benefiting from two things right now:
1) The weaker dollar makes exporting to the US less desirable.
2) Strong economies in Asia are importing steel voraciously.
When these conditions change, the US Steel industry can't compete. Why? UNIONS.
I thought you wanted to talk facts. You don't seem to be equipped with any. The idea that there is no effect from a tax on raw materials is the real nonsense. All money comes from somewhere. Economics does not get much simpler than that.
Really? Why then has there not been a complete collapse in US steel production over the past 30 years? We are producing as much now as we did in the 1970's (consumption is not up much because of plastics substitution). All those horror stories about Bethlehem and Pittsburgh and Youngstown mills going under have less to do with foreign steel and more to do with economic factors in production (nearby iron ore deposits becoming spent out, shift of production to other areas of the country, greater ue of scrap remelting in new mills, etc.) The largest costs in steel production are material inputs, not labor, and a lot of the material cost is bulk transportation, since rocks of various sorts (iron, coal, and limestone) are relatively cheap. One can buy limestone for $5 per ton crushed, but shipment even 100-200 miles might run $10 per ton. If your nearby quarry is spent out, your mill might become uneconomical.
I thought you wanted to talk facts. You don't seem to be equipped with any.
I've yet to see a single fact come from your way. I don't think you even know the first thing about American steel production and its economic geography and production history. You certainly aren't demonstrating it here.
The idea that there is no effect from a tax on raw materials is the real nonsense. Economics does not get much simpler than that.
Except when your "theory" has no support in any the data. See the graphs I previously posted. Steel price has continued a long-term secular down trend. Tarriffs had no long term price effect and no stabilization effect on prices. Your theory is just hot air.