by Ryan McMaken
Mises.org
Donald Trump is certainly not the only powerful protectionist out there. Chinese steel production has been coming under increasing attack by American interest groups and the US government itself.
Back in late April, US Steel Corp began petitioning the US government for a ban on steel imports from China. US Steel Corp claims the sanctions are necessary to punish Chinese hackers who allegedly engaged in corporate espionage against US steel companies.
If successful, the petition will block carbon and alloy steel produced in China from entering the U.S. Most critically, it will prevent those who allegedly stole U.S. Steel’s intellectual property from making billions of dollars from decades of research. The International Trade Commission has 30 days to decide whether to initiate a case.