More than a quarter of our market is serviced by imports. During a decade of slow but steady economic expansion, the American steel industry has instead remained in a malaise, its workers plagued by the threat of layoffs.

This is the reality in steelmaking communities like Lorain, Ohio, or along the lakeshore in Northwest Indiana. Yet in the face of these facts, many of the president’s fellow Republicans are lashing out at his attempt to address these problems.

Despite that, President Trump beat an almost entirely free-trading field in the 2016 GOP primaries. Though he continues to enjoy support of the conservative base, some Republicans will apparently not stomach even this slightest break from trade policy dogma.