As I write this, the newly sworn 116th Congress of the United States is about a week old.

The 116th U.S. Congress commenced chaotically on Jan. 3, with Democrats taking control of the House for the first time since 2010, Republicans retaining the Senate and a partial shutdown of the U.S. government in full swing.

Approximately 90 FIA members gathered at FIA’s annual meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, to engage the issues of the day in the forging industry.

In late September, trade representatives from Mexico, Canada and the U.S. reached an agreement to replace NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was negotiated by the Clinton administration.

John Peter Zenger was a New York journalist who, in 1733, voiced his disagreement with the Crown’s governor in New York, William Cosby, who replaced a disagreeable judge with a more agreeable jurist. Zenger’s paper, the New York Weekly Journal, wrote articles critical of the royal governor, who in turn criticized the paper for its “divers scandalous, virulent, false and seditious reflections.”

Tariffs on top of tariffs, as far as the eye can see. Trade policy in Washington has been turned on its head, and organizations like FIA are working overtime to ensure that their members’ voices are heard. That’s not always easy in this environment, but it’s critical.