The Trump Administration is backing a plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The plan is aimed at making American metal production more competitive at home, but Director of State Projects at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation Scott Drenkard says as a port state, the proposal hits Louisiana particularly hard.
Drenkard says that Louisiana could be impacted by "about half a billion dollars in a given year."
The Tax Foundation estimates the tariffs would cost the US 9 billion dollars a year.
Much of Louisiana’s economy is dependent on the imported goods that crowd our docks. Drenkard says if history holds up, many of those jobs could be at risk.
According to Drenkard, an estimated "two hundred thousand Americans lost their jobs" the last time a steel tariff was enforced in 2002.
Drenkard says while some jobs may be saved as a result, consumers would notice a price increase on many of their favorite goods.
The tariffs would tax steel at 25 percent, and aluminum at 10 percent.