With the final recommendations made by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross including steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, President Trump announced that he will be imposing tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

In opposition of this decision, the American Supply Association issued the following statement: “As an industry reliant on both domestic and imported steel, the American Supply Association (ASA) opposes this decision and is sounding the alarm bells over the impacts this could have. By propping up the domestic steel and aluminum industry, we risk doing more harm than good. This decision will result in placing limits on the essential resources needed to deliver finished goods to our customers. In addition to the likelihood that projects may be delayed, our members foresee a shortage of domestic capacity that may struggle to ramp up production in response to these changes. Not only do we believe domestic mills are likely to increase their prices in the near-term, commiserate with those of imported product, but our members remain equally alarmed over the prospect of limited supplies, many of which are already dwindling. As an association that represents not only distributors of steel and aluminum products, ASA also represents manufacturers that rely on these essential raw materials to produce items used in our homes and communities every day. We believe this will result in a new tax placed on the consumer, while crippling many in manufacturing and should be reconsidered. ASA looks forward to taking our case to lawmakers on Capitol Hill as well as the White House on the 18th and 19th of April.”

The American Supply Association represents more than 4,200 sites in the plumbing, heating, cooling and piping and Industrial Pipe-Vales-Fittings industries comprised of 330 independent wholesaler-distributors, as well as over 120 manufacturers and 200 manufacturer’s representative.

Visit www.asa.net.