The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it would move to formally suspend a scheduled tariff increase on Chinese goods “until further notice,” Reuters reports.

After two consecutive years of double-digit growth, the FIN Fastener Stock Index contracted in 2018, hampered by volatility that dominated the markets, making 2018 the worst year for stocks in a decade.

International Fastener Expo events begin on Tuesday in Las Vegas. The trade show will be 9am to 4pm on Wednesday and Thursday.

“The Commerce Department continues to be overwhelmed, the process is inconsistent at best, and tilted to steel industry at worst,” Industrial Fasteners Institute’s Washington representative Jennifer Baker Reid told GlobalFastenerNews.com.

Southwestern Fastener Association panelists agreed U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are not creating jobs – just price increases.

While U.S. steelmakers and aluminum firms celebrated President Donald Trump’s announcement, other manufacturers expressed concern about higher raw-material costs, as well as the potential for disruptions to U.S. exports, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“President Donald Trump said the U.S. plans to impose 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on aluminum, and expects to sign a formal order next week,” Bloomberg reports.

“The new TX features 2,000 components exclusive to the project, so LEVC leaned on Optimas’ expertise due to a track record of providing a myriad of fastener solutions to OEM automotive manufacturers around the world.”

Since 1979, the FIN Survey has monitored how the fastener industry is performing. The results are published annually to provide benchmarks to measure your company performance. All responses are confidential.

Joe Smith of Metabo Power Tools / North America said “revolutionary technological innovation & development are driving the cordless trend.”

Process gives overseas manufacturers an advantage both in buying less steel to produce the product and in less weight to ship the threaded rod.