[bert]

The American steel industry died because it was no longer competitive. Some chalk it up to unions, but all the various factors in the price equation contributed to a price that was to expensive for buyers.

Buy American for commodities is isolationist.

[Garth Tater]

And why was the American steel industry no longer competitive Bert? Could it be that the cost of not polluting our rivers and our air is included in the cost of American steel and is not included in the cost of Chinese steel, as can be seen by the toxic stew they live in?

This cost, which we impose on ourselves so that we don't have to live in a hellish environment, puts our manufacturers at a disadvantage to their asian competitors and in this highly competitive world all it takes is a very slight manufacturing cost differential to put a company out of business.

[central_va]

Our parents and grandparents did fine with out imported steel or virtually anything else.