Trump's Tariffs Drive Up The Cost Of Public Works

Duties are adding about $1.3 million to the price tag of steel on a Detroit river cleanup

- Mark Niquette

If Congress approves a national public works program next year, President Trump’s trade war could inflate the price tag, costing taxpayers and construction companies many millions of dollars.

A three-quarter-mile stretch of Detroit’s Lower Rouge River illustrates the problem. Known as the Old Channel, it was contaminated from decades of industrial-waste discharges. To clean the waterway, workers are installing a 2,500-foot-long, sheetpile bulkhead wall to support the riverbanks. Once that’s built by early next year, polluted river sediment and debris will be removed.

The $10 million cost of the steel for the wall, imported from China, has risen by about $1.3 million because of Trump’s tariffs, potentially increasing the project’s overall price, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Public works projects in California, Utah, Virginia, and other states also face higher costs.

The president announced duties of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum in March on national security grounds. Steel-related materials absorb 10¢ of every $1 spent on highway and bridge construction, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. U.S. Department of Labor data show double-digit price increases for steel-mill products and other construction materials in the past year. The price of U.S. hot-rolled coil, a U.S. industry benchmark, is up 20 percent in 2018, largely because of the tariffs.