G 20 Comes to MIlwaukee 9 30 2026
The G 20 is going to be here. In the Washington Post was this:
“More than two dozen countries agreed to a new framework Wednesday aimed at fighting a global glut in steelmaking.”
“The plan encourages countries to reduce or eliminate subsidies that contribute to excess steel supply and to share data on their steel-supply chains. It also says countries will take “evidence-based actions” to address the effects of excess capacity, including tariffs.”
“The framework came out of a meeting of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity — a group of 28 countries including the United States, but not including China — ahead of Wednesday’s G-20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee.”
Washington Post 9 30 2026
So the key to this is China is being singled out as having state subsidies for steel making. And capitalists cannot compete. The accusation is they are causing a glut in steel production, and capitalists are unable to compete.
Which could be partially true. But a capitalist could say he will just take less surplus value from the commodity he is producing. He sells the commodity for less value than it is worth, for whatever reason, cornering the market, favorable conditions for production, etc., yet still makes a profit. Theoretically this gives him more traction to sell for cheaper than if the commodity was sold at its value.
So the question is whether or not China is selling their steel for the value it costs to produce it. And apparently because it is connected to the state, if the state does not sell the commodity at its value, capitalists feel threatened.
At least that‘s how the argument goes. But in Washington Post character, we continue in the article to find this:
“China and some other countries have flooded the global market with steel, creating a challenge for other steel industries. President Donald Trump implemented 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum when he came back into office and doubled the rate to 50 percent, hoping to protect U.S. steel makers.”
“Tariffs, trade deals and favorable tax treatment have boosted the U.S. steel industry, U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer said in a statement encouraging partner countries to “adopt similar policies.””
““Every country will do what they think is appropriate,” he told reporters Wednesday when asked whether most countries attending the G-20 Trade Ministerial had agreed to boost tariffs on Chinese steel.”
Post ibid.
Here we come full circle. Now we have capitalists not taxing industry, using tariffs, and trade deals to compete with steel they cannot themselves produce and make a profit. The key here is tariffs and not taxing steel are little different than subsidies. Both subsidies and tariffs are not exactly “free market capitalism”. Tax may seem illogical on steel, but let’s remember America has a tax on pens and paper; it’s called sales tax. You can’t just opt in or out of it. You have to pay, and it is a cost of production.
So getting out of it interferes with the price of the commodity, in this case steel.
I’m not arguing for taxes, but this is sort of like subsidizing industry. On top of it, you apply a 50% tariff on imported steel. Now competition really looks a lot like its opposite, monopoly capitalism. The value of Canadian steel, and Chinese steel, now face competition with what is obviously no different than Chinese subsidies.
And this comes from a supposedly free market capitalist American Democratic Republic.
The contradiction could not be clearer. The Washington Post is not to blame for being misleading. Rather it is in the minds of capitalists we see these contradictions play out.
The shift from Integrated MIlls to Electric Arc Furnaces probably has most to do with China having cheaper steel. American mills still use coking technology, the electric arc mills do not; instead they use recycled steel. If there is ever going to be competition, instead of monopoly capitalism, it is going to be recycled steel that is competitive on an open market.
Instead this form of imperialism, the tariffs, subsidy tax breaks, etc, will continue to favor 20th century industry.
The G 20 knows this. That they came to these conclusions in a state 36 years into recycling is strange. Milwaukee’s steel is competitive. So is its aluminum. It is due to recycling, something Milwaukee is good at.
Instead the conclusion China is somehow to blame for being able to produce cheap steel that is glutting the market looks ridiculous. So far the G 20 looks like a social for capitalists, not a real effort to decide what to do now that 20th century steel making is no longer competitive.
Nicholas Jay Boyes
Milwaukee Wisconsin
American Democratic Republic
9 30 2026
