Steelworker Union President Calls Trump’s Tariffs The ‘Shot In the Arm’ That The Industry Needed

The president of a steelworker union praised President Donald Trump’s tariff initiative, on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday, and called it the “shot in the arm” the steel industry needed.

“The president’s probably been the biggest supporter of steel that we’ve had in many decades,” said Mark Glyptis of United Steelworkers Local 2911. “When he imposed the tariffs — when President Trump imposed the tariffs — that was a shot in the arm for the steel industry. It created thousands of jobs. We’re the most efficient steelworks in the world today.”

“And the previous administrations, whether Democrat or Republican, ignored the steel industry to the extent that we lost hundreds of thousands of jobs,” he said. “So, when the tariffs were imposed, it gave us an opportunity to compete against the rest of the world on a fairer basis. So it’s created jobs and the industry right now is doing very, very well.”

Glyptis said the Trump administration’s tariff policies helped create job security for his workers and have also helped America become more competitive on the world stage.

“For me personally, it’s created job security for my constituency, my family. So it’s been a very, very positive outcome. And the future looks very bright for the steel industry. The unions in this country need to continue to create situations that we can compete on a global basis,” he said.

Glyptis also claimed a border wall made out of steel would create more American jobs and inject life into the economy.

“The tariffs just make it fairer for us to compete on a global market,” he continued. “So it’s been — President Trump’s been the best friend for the steel industry that we’ve had in many, many years. So I thank him for that. If the wall’s built out of steel, obviously it’s going to create additional jobs. It’s going to improve our economy. Good things will happen. And it’ll be a great way to secure the border.”