The policy differences between presidential nominees Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) are sharply drawn in many areas, but nowhere are they starker than in the area of international trade.

For the U.S. metal industries, trade issues still stand at or near the top of the overall agenda, even in these times of financial turmoil and market chaos. Toss China's allegedly unfair steel exports and currency manipulation into the mix and you have a boiling stew.

Put simply, McCain is an unabashed, old-school free trader with few reservations; Obama's position, while nuanced and uncertain in some areas, might best be summed up as fair trade.

McCain supports the pending free-trade agreements negotiated by the Bush administration with South Korea, Colombia and Panama and strongly opposes any attempt to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). The bottom line: there wouldn't be many changes from what's been in place the last eight years.

During...