American steelworkers are astoundingly productive — but there's a catch


The United States imports a mind-blowing amount of steel. Last year, the country brought in over 27 million metric tons, an increase of 219 percent since 2009. So it may surprise people to learn that American steel workers are astoundingly productive. As economist Jared Bernstein points out, U.S. steel output per hour worked has increased five-fold since the early 1980s. What's more, American manufacturing labor costs are not that much higher than global norms.
So why is there so much steel importing? The answer, as Bernstein argues, is almost certainly that China has long been dumping its steel, and thus driving the global price down. "By dumping, below cost, so much excess capacity on the global market, China neutralizes the [American] productivity gains," he writes.
Could President Trump's looming tariffs make American steel great again? Probably not. They are likely too "scattershot," as Bernstein writes, to make much of a dent in Chinese production. There's a good argument, in fact, that they're more likely to spark a trade war with Canada and the EU than convince China of anything.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Crossword: August 2, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement