Abstract
The postwar years have brought US steel and auto industries declining shares of their respective world markets. This shrinkage was caused by such factors as: 1. slower US economic growth compared to the world, 2. a reduction in steel and automobile consumption relative to gross national product (GNP), and 3. the competition from growing imports. Despite these similarities, several differences between the industries exist. The auto industry is apparently at a greater cost disadvantage with Japan. The US car market is still distinct from that of other nations. Less developed nations are not as serious a threat to automakers as they are to the steel industry. However, Japan is a greater threat to domestic producers of autos. US automakers have substantial financial and technological resources with which to develop new products and devise more efficient ways of conducting business. It is not certain whether the auto industry's advantages will permit it to prosper without formal import protection.