Democrats in Congress put provisions into the stimulus bill that would prohibit the procurement of foreign-made steel and iron for use in most of the bill's infrastructure projects.(The Week)(Brief article)

Democrats in Congress put provisions into the stimulus bill that would prohibit the procurement of foreign-made steel and iron for use in most of the bill's infrastructure projects. Such "Buy American" provisions are doubly damaging: They force higher prices on consumers and invite retaliation from our trading partners. The last time the government intervened to help the steel industry--the steel tariffs of 2002--the EU promptly drew up a list of products it planned to hit with $2.2 billion worth of retaliatory sanctions. The Bush administration reversed course in the face of disaster, and the head of the steelworkers union ...