Business Briefs – July 27, 2018

Trump Hails Illinois Steel Mill as An Economic Success Story

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (AP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday trumpeted the renewed success of an Illinois steel mill, pushing back against criticism that his escalating trade disputes are hurting American workers and farmers.

The president pointed to the U.S. Steel plant’s reopening as a success story after he slapped tariffs on imported steel and aluminum last spring. On Wednesday, he and European leaders agreed to open talks to tear down trade barriers, a decision he called a “breakthrough.”

“America never surrenders,” Trump said in an address to workers at the company’s steel coil warehouse in Granite City. “We don’t wave the white flag.”

Texas Company Cleared to Put 3D-Printed Gun Designs Online

(AP) – 3D-printed guns made of a hard plastic that are simple to assemble, easy to conceal and tough to trace.

After spending years fighting the federal government for the right to do so, a Texas company was given the green light to post blueprints online showing people how to make 3D-printed guns at home.

Gun safety advocates and some law enforcement officials are worried that this is exactly what criminals and terrorists want: guns that can’t be flagged by metal detectors, don’t have serial numbers to trace and don’t require the usual background checks. A coalition of gun-control groups filed an appeal Thursday in federal court seeking to block a recent Trump administration ruling allowing Cody Wilson and his company, Defense Distributed, to post blueprints online to create a 3D-printed firearm.