According to reports, a 20-month tariff on imported steel resulted in a loss of 9.3m tons of the metal and more than 2,000 jobs at U.S. ports, according to a new report from a maritime economics consulting firm. The study by Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pa., commissioned by the American Institute for Imported Steel and the first to document the economic impact of the tariff, found that the trade restriction kept about 424,000 tons of steel and iron from going through U.S. ports in 2002 and 2003. The metals were instead shipped to other countries. The data will be used to oppose future tariff threats and to educate policymakers, said David Phelps, president of the AIIS.