Steel Executives Wary of Spring Import Surge

摘要

At this point in 2013, Americans were feeling a mixture of relief, anger and pessi mism about the year ahead. In a last-minute budget vote, Congress managed to keep the nation from plunging over the fiscal cliff, but the partisan bickering between Republicans and Democrats over the debt ceiling and federal spending cuts undermined consumer and business confidence. The atmosphere is different today. Last month, in a rare recent example of bipartisanship, Congress sent the president a compromise budget that headed off another government shutdown and eased spending cuts. Leading indicators point to a recovering job market and growing demand for manufactured goods. In theory, conditions both political and economic appear ripe for a better year in 2014.