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U.S., Europe work to hammer out new agreement on tariffs

Sep 8, 2023
Remember those steel and aluminum tariffs that were supposed to target China but also pulled in Europe and Canada? Most of them still exist.
The Trump-era tariffs were imposed with the legal justification of protecting America’s national security. But they were also about protecting America’s steel and aluminum producers from cheaper Chinese imports.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The prices of industrial metals are surging. That's probably good news for the world economy.

Nov 15, 2022
The increases are seen as an indicator of strength, though they might fuel more inflation.
Copper’s recent price surge hints at a strengthening global economy, boosted by an expected recovery of Chinese manufacturing. Above, a copper mining operation.
Ari Widodo/Getty Images

Craft brewers scramble to find aluminum cans

Mar 14, 2022
Manufacturer Ball Corp. reporting unprecedented demand for its cans during the pandemic, raises its minimum order fivefold.
Denver Beer Co. founder Patrick Crawford stands before a mountain of cans inside his production facility in the city's Sunnyside neighborhood on Feb. 8.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

U.S. and EU trade agreement seeks reduction of "dirty steel"

Nov 1, 2021
The pact lifts U.S. tariffs on European steel and European Union duties on bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
President Joe Biden at the G-20 summit in Rome, where the U.S. announced it would roll back tariffs imposed on imported EU steel and aluminum.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

How this metal foundry grew its business during the pandemic

Oct 14, 2021
Although prices for aluminum and zinc are ticking up, Adam Schaller, vice president of a Michigan metal foundry, says business is growing.
Prices for aluminum base scrap picked up 9.7% from August to September.
Lukas Schulze via Getty Images

Building a Black-owned brewery through the pandemic

Oct 13, 2021
Teo Hunter of Crowns & Hops Brewing is creating a brand that can be "a case study to what it means to be accomplishing racial equity."
Teo Hunter, left, and Beny Ashburn, the founders of Crowns & Hops Brewing. Said Hunter: "Our goal was always to give something beautiful, something that was indicative of Black and brown excellence, to the community."
Courtesy Beny Ashburn

How did aluminum get so expensive?

Sep 7, 2021
The 10-year high in prices is due to unrest in Guinea, where a key component is mined, and the surge in demand for the green economy.
Stacks of empty aluminum cans sit on a pallet Devil's Canyon Brewery in California. The price of aluminum reached a 10-year high this week.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Trump brings back tariff on Canadian aluminum, one month after USMCA takes effect

Aug 7, 2020
The president says Canada is flooding the U.S. with imported aluminum and undercutting American companies.
President Donald Trump speaks to workers at a Whirlpool manufacturing facility on Aug. 6, 2020 in Clyde, Ohio.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Could tariffs make U.S. businesses less productive in the long run?

May 24, 2019
Higher tariffs on Chinese imports, especially those that are used to make things in the U.S., can cut efficiency and competitiveness, experts say.
Chinese shipping containers that were unloaded at the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles County in 2018.
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

My Economy: The personal cost of a year of tariffs

Mar 19, 2019
For Sam Desai, vice president at RM Metals, a year of tariffs on his balance sheet changed his work habits.
Tom Mihalek/Getty Images