The Houston East End Chamber of Commerce will host The Steel Forum Global Economy Local Effect panel discussion on December 11, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at Federal Reserve Bank. The panelists will include the Port of Houston, JSW Steel USA, and the American Institutes for International Steel. The forum is an effort to share timely information to area stakeholders regarding the impact of President Trump’s tariff on steel. Event sponsors include the University of Houston, OEShip USA, Inc., International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) -South Atlantic & Gulf Coast District, Allegiance Bank, ILA Local 351, and Lacey Newday Consulting, LLC.
The Houston economy has already begun experiencing the effects of the newly imposed tariff. According to the Houston Chronicle, “in the three months between July and September, imports of steel and iron as well as products made of them, have plunged 23% from the same period a year earlier.” In addition to a blow to the Port of Houston, a staple in the Houston economy, in the event of a continued down surge of imports comes the inevitability of jobs lost across the industry, a spike in the rate of unemployment and decreased productivity.
“Steel tariffs decrease the amount of steel be shipped to our ports in the U.S. in general, but more specifically to Houston, as we are the top receiving port. The trickle down impacts transportation companies, third party logistics, warehousing, manufacturing – literally all aspects of our local economy in America’s fourth largest city,” says University of Houston professor, program director of the Supply Chain and Logistics Technology program, and panelist Margaret Kidd. “There will always be winners and losers in trade wars. Regrettably, the jobs the current administration are trying to save are costing jobs in other parts of the U.S.”
In effort to fulfill a campaign promise to bring back jobs, and to “rebuild the steel and aluminum industries,” President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel, and a 10% tariff on aluminum in March of 2018. In addition to its necessity in everyday societal consumption including transportation, and infrastructure, the vitality of Houston’s oil and gas industry and stature as the epicenter of U.S. energy depends on the continued import and export of steel and steel related products, including machinery, pipes, rebar, and coils, to name a few. In 2017 alone, the Port of Houston exported 20%, and imported 42% of commodities related to steel, per the Journal of Commerce.
“The purpose of the panel will be to tackle the issue of steel tariffs from several lenses: the impact on the Port of Houston, impact on organized labor, impact on manufacturing, impact on local and regional economy, impact on general labor market,” says Kidd.
In addition, the forum’s panelists will include John Moseley, the Chief Commercial Officer of the Port of Houston, John Hritz, President and CEO of JSW USA, and John Foster, Chairman of the American Institutes for International Steel.
For more information and to RSVP for the panel: frontdesk [at] eecoc.org (frontdesk[at]eecoc[dot]org)