Substandard imports ruined competitive edge

To the editor:

I support tariffs on imports.

Five years ago, I went to work for a steel company in Arkansas. Business was good, and the company was making a good profit after placing a cold mill in the facility.

All of a sudden in 1997, all we saw coming through the mill was cheap, substandard Russian steel.

We were close to producing the quality needed to urge Ford Motor Co. to go ahead with a conditional plan to put a parts plant in the community. After the junk we started producing from the Russian steel, all that went out the window.

Being a new facility, the company opted to save by buying the substandard steel while its competitor stuck with American-made quality.

The last 160 steel processors lost their jobs a few months ago when the plant finally closed its doors for good.

There is talk that Ford may reinitiate its plan to bring jobs to the community, based on the quality and performance of the American steel processing competitor and the hope of a renewed market for the auto industry.

VERN DAVIDSON JR.

Cape Girardeau