Guest Editorial: For the sake of principles and politics

He needs to get while the getting is good, which is to say, he needs to abide by the ruling of the World Trade Organization that says the tariffs should be lifted because they were not imposed in accordance with the rules of the game.

If he doesn't, the European Union is going to put high tariffs on a long list of U.S. products, and that will mean loss of exports and jobs in a variety of crippled industries.

It's widely held that the president imposed the tariffs in the first place to win political support in states important to his re-election chances, but the political consequences can cut two ways. For every job saved in the steel industry, many more jobs have been lost in other industries dependent on the cheapest possible steel and on unloading ships and transporting the metal around the country. Many people in these other industries understand what's been done to them, and they aren't happy about it.

The U.S. steel industry, meanwhile, won't be done for if the tariffs are lifted. The economy is picking up now and the industry is said in one analysis to have firmer footing than it did before the tariffs were imposed. The renewed competition, some believe, could be more important to managerial muscle-building in the industry than the easier lifting provided by protectionism.

His free-trade principles, the economy's needs and respect for a treaty obligation should instruct this president to revoke the tariffs. If none of that persuades him, maybe he ought to think about politics, too. Continued favors for the steel industry entail disfavors for consumers and other industries that happen to be paying attention.