Test BSP-2097

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Rows of small factories line the streets of a dusty suburb in Bengaluru, where workers weld and cast Indian-made steel into everything from car parts to kitchen sinks. Here, U.S. President Trump’s announcement to impose high trade tariffs on steel imports has some unexpected supporters.

Many industry workers and experts expect that the result of tariffs will be that cheap steel gets dumped in places like India. That’s because the announced 25% tariff will make it too expensive for many companies in countries like China and South Korea to keep exporting to the U.S.

For B. Praveen of Sun Techpro Engineering, which makes products from steel metal sheets, it means his “wafer-thin” profit margins will probably grow as the steel he buys gets cheaper.

“For thousands of companies like mine, this can be a good thing,” he said. Businesses such as Praveen’s employ over 200 million Indians and are key drivers of India’s economy.