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President Donald Trump’s newly introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have stirred up debate across the country since they were signed into law.

Steel manufacturers are virtually alone in voicing support for the new 25 percent charge on foreign steel and 10 percent on foreign aluminum. American manufacturing and construction firms have largely rebuffed the policy, which they say will reduce demand for projects and ultimately result in job losses. Trump, however, is merely the latest in a long line of American presidents who have used tariffs to protect the domestic steel industry. Previously, George W. Bush imposed a 30 percent tariff on steel in 2002.

Many Pacific Northwest construction professionals oppose the tariffs. Industry figures say the move to tax steel and aluminum only adds to existing cost uncertainties in commercial and residential building.

鈥淚t introduces a level of uncertainty into the market,鈥� Hoffman Construction Vice President Daniel Drinkward said. 鈥淭he construction market is seeing tremendous cost uncertainties even without this. We have a labor shortage that affects our subcontractors’ ability to deliver work, and to pile this on top of it, it certainly doesn’t help.鈥�

The tariffs were signed into law March 8, but until May 1 (pending discussions) for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the member countries of the European Union. This is noteworthy, because Canada is currently the United States’ largest trading partner for steel products.

鈥淭he question is: How much will that actually impact the cost of steel?鈥� Drinkward said of the new tariff. 鈥淐ertainly, some of that capacity will get picked up by domestic steel manufacturers. And it’s also uncertain how much any reduced demand will affect prices.鈥�

Such is the uncertainty, however, that some contractors are not yet allowing themselves to worry about the unknown.

鈥淲e haven’t seen any major concerns yet from any of the major suppliers,鈥� INLINE Commercial Construction Vice President Brandon Flint said. 鈥淎nd until we start seeing that, for right now we’re just doing everything business as normal. We’ve talked about it, but at the same time, how fast will it turn around? It’s yet to be determined.鈥�

For builders, the new tariffs follow the imposition last year of an approximately 21 percent tariff on Canadian softwood imports. The latter move has already hit both residential and commercial builders. Now with the former in place, contractors are having trouble predicting where the market is heading.

鈥淏ecause they’re passing it straight through to the end consumer, unfortunately we don’t have the ability to absorb that, so it keeps building,鈥� said Mack Thames, a senior project manager with TEAM Construction of Vancouver, Washington. 鈥淵ou’re just raising prices.鈥�

Thames noted that lumber prices have been impacted by not only the tariff on Canadian softwood, but also by last year’s raging wildfire season that saw a reduction in harvests and imports alike.

Overall, materials have increased in cost by 5.2 percent from February 2017, performed by the Associated Builders and Contractors. It stated softwood lumber prices went up 5.6 percent while steel mill product prices increased by 2.3 percent.

鈥淭here are a lot of materials in construction that are commodity-based,鈥� Thames said as he looked out across the Southeast Portland project site where his firm is building the $29.9 million Stark Street Apartments. 鈥淪o my fear is that I’m already starting to see some projects shelved and put on hold, and my fear is that this continues.鈥�

The Associated General Contractors’ Oregon-Columbia chapter declined to comment on the tariffs, but the national organization agrees with Thames.

AGC of America CEO Stephen Sandherr stated March 8 the new steel and aluminum tariffs will 鈥渃ause significant harm to the nation’s construction industry,鈥� and possibly trigger as many as 30,000 job losses. He also pointed out that companies currently engaged in fixed-price contracts will have to eat any supply cost increases, while contractors in general also will be forced to deal with a likely decrease in demand for private projects.

鈥淭he bottom line is that any short-term gains for the domestic steel and aluminum industries will likely be offset,鈥� Sandherr said.

One of the few voices in favor of Trump’s tariffs is the U.S. steel industry. United Steelworkers officials released a glowing statement in support of the move the same day opponents expressed their displeasure.

鈥淎dequate production and trained workers go hand in hand,鈥� USW International Vice President Tom Conway stated March 8. 鈥淭he announced relief has already sent a positive charge through the industry that the decline in steel and aluminum sectors can be reversed.鈥�

Others, including Drinkward, aren’t so sure.

鈥淚t’s not certain to me exactly how big an impact this will have,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it will put upward pressure on the cost of steel, and there’s just no way around it; you’re making steel harder to provide.鈥�