I would like to say first, to our readers, advertisers, contributors and partners, THANK YOU! As the new group publisher for the Thermal Processing Group at BNP Media, I’m looking forward to continuing to build on our longstanding brands.

Depending on your source, definitions of the word tariff vary, but virtually all of them include the word “tax” or “duty.” Most etymologists say the word comes from the Italian tariffa, or “list of prices, book of rates,” derived in turn from the Arabic ta’rif, meaning “making known” or “to define.” For convenience sake we will go with Wikipedia’s simple definition: “A tariff is a tax on imports or exports between sovereign states.”

Finished forgings cannot reach their intended markets without the labor of humans.

Forge Fair 2019 will be upon us before we know it (May 21-23 in Cleveland), and it may be a good time to consider some regulations and rules regarding trade shows.

The Forging Industry Educational and Research Foundation (FIERF) works to connect educational institutions and the forging industry through future workforce development, promoting the advantages of forged products, facilitating technology transfer and promoting applicable research.

My first full year as the new president and CEO of the Forging Industry Association (FIA) was eventful and exciting!

Ongoing trade discussions between the U.S. and China were high in the news cycle in March. The economic relationship between China and the U.S., which has expanded enormously during the last few decades, has been one filled with tensions, allegations of currency manipulation, outright theft of intellectual property (IP) and other speed bumps in the highway of trade between the two countries.

The forging industry will meet in Cleveland for the third consecutive time at Forge Fair 2019. The new Huntington Convention Center will host the biennial event May 21-23, 2019.

Derek Stake is the forge manager at Mid-West Forge Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio.

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