For Todd Adams of Sanitube U.S., and Katie Lazar of Cain Vineyard & Winery, tariffs have created new obstacles to business.

The price hike is hitting U.S. manufacturers and contractors that rely on steel components.

President Donald Trump’s 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs made domestic production more lucrative. But higher prices will cause hardship throughout the manufacturing sector.

“What we learned from the last tariff experience is that what goes up must come down,” says Lisa Goldenberg of Delaware Steel Co. “So it's kind of a last man standing.”

When prices go up for foreign steel and aluminum because of tariffs, domestic producers are given a sort of green light to raise their own prices.

The U.S. was the globe’s No. 4 steel producer in 2023, but China rules the market. Will new tariffs on foreign steel change the equation?

The metals are paired as targets for import duties, but they serve different markets. Domestic steel has spare capacity, aluminum not so much.

Different parts of the country make different products and often respond distinctly to economic trends.

Slowing demand in construction and manufacturing in the U.S. and around the globe have pulled steel prices lower for months.

Last year, the Department of Energy proposed using amorphous steel. But some electricity providers, power companies and steel plants objected.