In some hearings before a Senate committee on tariffs about 1912, the head of Parker and LC Smith both testified that they were unable to make quality barrels at prices to make their guns competitive. They needed the source of Belgian (et.al) barrels to make good shotguns.
Some other documentation stated that even though they had tried to source their barrel steel from the US,they could not do it reliably enough for their quality control.
It might not have been true but they told the US Senate it was.
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