The High Price of Cement

I confess that I have not noticed any recent rapid and large increase in the price of cement (but it's not a completely new phenomenon - check out the dates on the articles here). It seems plausible that the high prices in the U.S. are the result of alleged anti-dumping policies of the United States against cement produced in Mexico (for example, see here and here). These barriers to trade restrict competition from foreign producers, enabling less efficient U.S. producers to charge higher prices.

Pathetic. Clearly the gains from lobbying outweigh the strength of arguments concerning gains from trade.