One report predicts 28,000 construction jobs will be lost due to tariffs The proposed steel and aluminum tariffs President Trump announced last week made domestic steel and aluminum mills very happy. But the potential shift in metal prices has many industries, including construction, expecting higher costs, and may also impact infrastructure spending across the nation.
In a study released yesterday, the D.C.-based Trade Partnership, an economic consulting group, projected that 28,000 jobs would be lost in the construction industry alone due to the tariffs.
Last Thursday, President Trump proposed imposing a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff in imported aluminum.
The tariffs, and expected increase in the price of raw materials, especially in the short term, comes when the country faces an acute affordable housing shortage and political leaders are debating a national infrastructure plan. The cost of action on both fronts may be increased due to rising aluminum and steel prices. ?This announcement by the president could not have come at a worse time,? Randy Noel, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement. ?Tariffs hurt consumers and harm housing affordability.?
According to Neel Khosa, vice president of AMSYSCO, an Illinois-based company that manufactures steel post-tensioning wire for parking garages and high rises, such as the 55 Hudson Yards project in Manhattan, the tariff will have a negative impact on th...