>>1675637>>1675462The primary cause for changes in steel employment, for example, was the rise of the Basic Oxygen Process, the Electric Arc Furnace, and the minimill, which increased productivity and efficiency while reducing employment needs. With time and widespread adoption they produced a better American steel industry; normally cause for celebration except the US was rooted at all levels to evaluating the industry in terms of employment. This outdated view dovetailed with outdated management to drive a far more negative view of the transformation, and misdiagnose what had happened and what needed to be done.
Notably, despite having greater physical and social infrastructure for steel production, even in the US the legacy steel producers (both firms and states) showed no advantage or special compulsion in incorporating the new technologies and practices, opening the way for new actors to take market share.
Stronger import restrictions would've only propped up inefficient producers, slowed the transformation, and inflicted higher prices/lower quality upon steel consumers, who vastly outnumbered producers.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/historical/frbclev/wp/frbclv_wp1986-06.pdf 