Please, the difference is that there are substitutes for steel. Try running your car on ethanol.
What about beer? I wouldn't want a foreign producer to jack up the price. Could be grounds for war.
Why doesn't the government protect the breweries?
The steel industry itself has been a major importer of semifinished steel products. In 1998 more than 6 million tons of steel slabs, billets, and blooms were imported for use almost exclusively by steel mills.
When combined with wire rod and other semifinished products, imports by the steel industry reach 20 to 25 percent of overall steel imports. In November 1998 the International Trade Commission heard testimony that several of the major steel mills that have petitioned against steel imports were themselves placing orders to import large amounts of the very same products as recently as August 1998.
In the view of the big U.S. steel mills, apparently, these are “good” steel imports, while steel products that compete directly with what they produce are “bad” imports.
If you're interested, later I may pass along what the Commerce Dept. says about another phony argument from the protectionists - defense needs.