ST. MARTIN PARISH — On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States. The decision has raised questions about how it will impact local suppliers in areas like St. Martin Parish, where raw materials are sourced from outside the country.
Ian Bertrand, co-owner of St. Martin Metal, a local metal supplier, expressed concerns over the potential price increase due to these tariffs. "It could in fact have an impact. We’ve been in talks with our supplier as far as how this might affect the price," Bertrand stated. His company relies on raw steel sourced from a Texas supplier, who in turn sources some of their materials from manufacturers located in Canada and Mexico. The potential for tariffs has caused some uncertainty about how these costs will evolve.
Bertrand added, "They're going to see the increase in Houston when they go to buy their next supply of steel coils and say, 'Look, we’re going to have to raise our prices.'"
Economics professor Dr. Anthony Greco, from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, explained that the tariffs are part of a broader strategy aimed at increasing domestic production of materials. “I think the President’s administration wants to beef up domestic production in terms of metals and other things like that,” Greco stated.
According to Bertrand, the majority of St. Martin Metal's raw steel comes from Canada and Mexico. Dr. Greco noted that in extreme cases, the tariffs could lead to disruptions in production within those countries. "A much bigger part of their economy is devoted to trade than our economy. I was looking at the figures, and less than 22% of trade is the share of our GDP, but it’s up to 70% for Mexico and about two-thirds, 67% for Canada. So they’re much more reliant on trade than we are," Greco explained.
While the tariffs could benefit U.S. steel companies by increasing domestic production, Bertrand is optimistic about the potential long-term benefits. "U.S. steel companies are going to have to step up and increase production to meet the U.S.’s needs," he said, adding, “I think the long-term gain vastly outweighs the short-term pain.”
Though the tariffs have not yet gone into effect, Dr. Greco does not anticipate they will remain in place for an extended period.
