“For companies in the United States, this is exactly what the Trump administration intended when he enacted the Section 232 remedies,” Burritt said, delivering the keynote speech during the annual President’s Award Breakfast at AISTech 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pa. “The Trump administration understands the strategically important role the steel industry plays in our national and economic security.” 

Burritt said that due in large part to the tariffs, producers are once again investing in facilities, research and development, and their people.  

“These are the exactly the kinds of investments we need in order to keep dreaming big and doing good things for decades to come,” he said. 

But while progress has been made, he cautioned the breakfast’s 1,200 attendees that the industry still faces significant challenges in the form of an aging workforce, rapid technological change, competition from alternative materials and increased societal expectations for environmental stewardship. 

“How will we address those challenges? We need to draw on the past, preserve the best parts of it and improve on the rest.”