U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Braddock, Pennsylvania. (Justin Merriman/For The Washington Post)

President Donald Trump is hardly the first chief executive to try to save the U.S. steel industry. Going back to George W. Bush’s presidency, the U.S. government has imposed multiple rounds of tariffs meant to protect an iconic sector that built American heavy industry starting in the 19th century. The levies have been bad for the United States’ 21st-century economy. But Trump wants to go even bigger, imposing on Wednesday a whopping 50 percent tariff on imported steel and aluminum.

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