“Trade hawks, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and trade advisor Peter Navarro, have pushed for steep tariffs and quotas, while others, including Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn have supported a less heavy-handed approach,” according to Morningstar. “Steeper tariffs increase the risk of retaliation from trading partners as well as unintended negative effects on the profits of U.S. industries that are heavy steel consumers.”
Industrial metals like copper, nickel, iron and steel have all rebounded in recent months as traders bet on improving global economic conditions would bolster demand for the base metals after prices hit multi-year lows in 2016.
SLX and XME are up an average of almost 14% over the past year.
For more information on the steel industry, visit our steel category.