Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments October 31, 2019 erstellt
Description:
We examine the impact of the steel tariffs imposed by the United States in 2018. The tariffs were unusual in their size – 25% – and comprehensive coverage. These characteristics, as well as the concentrated nature of the U.S. industry, make the tariffs a useful instrument for measuring pass-through both in border prices and in prices charged by domestic industry. We find that the tariffs were fully absorbed by importers and led to price increases, roughly equal to the tariffs, in the American steel industry. The large domestic price increases, which began in advance of the imposition of the tariffs, are most parsimoniously explained as an instance of price coordination. The effects included large transfers from steel consumers to domestic steel producers and significant dead-weight losses. The increase in capacity utilization in the steel industry, the leading stated goal of the tariffs, came at a cost in transfers to steel producers of about $3.4 billion per percentage point of capacity utilization and a dead-weight loss of $1.1 billion per percentage point for our 15-month study period. These are not one-time costs but represent the continuing impact of the tariffs. Our results demonstrate the damage that tariffs can create even if they are temporary and are employed as a negotiating tactic