Protekcionismus v ocelářském průmyslu: opatření USA a reakce Číny a Evropské unie

Steel is a strategically important industry that remains highly exposed to state intervention, trade restrictions and international trade tensions. These tensions became particularly visible in the United States in 2018, when Section 232 tariffs on steel were introduced on national security grounds. This thesis aims to assess how U.S. Section 232 steel tariffs introduced in 2018 affected the U.S. steel industry in the context of global steel overcapacity and the countermeasures adopted by the European Union and China. It focuses on U.S. steel imports and production, domestic steel prices, and employment the U.S. steel industry. The analysis shows that the tariffs contributed to a decline in U.S. steel imports and to short-term improvements in selected domestic industry indicators, but they also increased steel prices and triggered different responses from the European Union and China. The EU placed greater emphasis on rebalancing and safeguard measures, while China responded mainly through retaliatory tariffs and WTO action. The thesis concludes that the Section 232 tariffs provided temporary support to the U.S. steel sector, but did not resolve the deeper structural problems of the global steel market.