Trump order pushes federal spending on US steel

President Donald Trump signed an executive order today in an attempt to boost government spending on US-made steel and aluminum products.

The executive order is an extension of Executive Order 13788 signed 18 April 2017 by Trump called "Buy American and Hire American." Agency and department heads will have 90 days to encourage those receiving new federal contracts to buy US-sourced steel, aluminum, cement and other manufactured products "to the greatest extent practicable."

Under the order, iron and steel "produced in the United States" includes the entire manufacturing process, from the first melting stages through the application of coatings.

The White House said that since the previous executive order was signed waivers to purchase foreign-made goods for federal contracts had declined by 16pc, and that government spending on foreign goods had fallen to its lowest point in 10 years.

The executive order includes manufactured products made out of steel, aluminum, plastics, concrete, glass and others. The materials could be used in infrastructure including bridges, roads, power plants, pipelines, and other projects.

Creating an infrastructure revitalization plan for the US was part of Trump's presidential campaign, but has been largely abandoned amid other issues including funding for a border wall, which ended up causing the longest government shutdown in US history. Trump has floated the idea that a new border wall could be constructed at least partially out of steel.

The Trump administration previously boosted the domestic steel industry in March 2018 by enacting Section 232 import tariffs on steel and aluminum. The move saw hot-rolled coil steel prices in the US rise to nearly $900/st in June, but prices have since fallen below $700/st.