Lowell company voices support for Trump's tariffs on imported steel and aluminum
LOWELL - President Donald Trump has said he will implement a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports beginning in March. Lowell Iron & Steel Company President Dennis Scannell says he hopes it will bring back the company's glory days.
A family tradition
"In our plant, we had tracks - railroad tracks - that came right from Pittsburgh right into our company, and when I first started here, it was all U.S. Steel came in," Scannell said.
When sparks fly from the welder inside the Lowell Iron & Steel Company, it continues a family tradition dating back over a century.
The company was founded by the Scannell family as a manufacturer of boilers in 1879. Under current company President Dennis Scannell, it evolved into a steel fabricator focused on metal beams and sheets.
Competition from foreign companies
Over the last decade, Scannell says his business has had difficulty landing large jobs with construction companies as it struggles to compete with foreign companies.
"Now, the average steelworker in fabrication plants in Canada, they make $20 an hour. The average one here in America, now, is over 40 an hour," Scannell said.
Scannell guesses that 30% of his steel comes from the U.S. and 70% comes from abroad, but that number could be even higher.
That is why Scannell supports the newest tariff proposal by Donald Trump. His logic: Higher steel prices in Canada will drive customers to American steel companies.
"I'd like to see America come back," he said.
Who tariffs help, who they hurt
Economists say what is good for domestic manufacturers, like Scannell, may not be good for consumers.
"When we tax imports, the price of not only imported steel goes up but of all steel. Even our domestic steel," said Christopher Knittel, an economics professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Scannell hears that argument but also sees benefits for his industry.
"He's trying to have more American companies buy American steel. Rather than having these steel mills shutting down here in America, kick them back up, turn them back on. American workers can now work them," Scannell said.
