Government/Policy
Steelmaker Testifies: Make Sure Tariffs are Effective
Written by Tim Triplett
April 15, 2018
U.S. steel producers consider the Trump administration tariffs on steel imports a big step forward, albeit a journey still in progress, but are not resting on their laurels. AK Steel CEO Roger Newport presented the industry’s case once again in testimony Thursday before the House Ways and Means Committee in support of Section 232.
“We encourage Congress to support the actions of the administration to ensure the steel Section 232 tariffs are effective, and that the U.S. maintains the ability to produce products critical to our national security interests, including the electrical infrastructure supply chain,” Newport said.
“At no time in our history have the challenges confronting the domestic steel industry because of unfair trade been more severe than the last three years when unfairly traded imports spiked to record highs, threatening to impair our national security interests. Nowhere is this more evident than for electrical steel, where due to unfair trade AK Steel is now the only remaining domestic producer of electrical steel for transformers, which are critical to the nation’s electric grid. Recognizing the global reality domestic steel producers face and the inadequacies of the trade laws to address it, President Trump took the bold and necessary action of imposing tariffs on foreign steel because of the Department of Commerce’s 232 investigation.”
In his testimony, Newport also noted that for the 232 remedy to be effective for electrical steel, it must also apply to downstream products like laminations, cores, core assemblies and transformers. He emphasized the importance of the administration not losing sight of the president’s objective of restoring the domestic steel industry to at least 80 percent capacity utilization and making sure mechanisms are in place to combat attempts to circumvent the remedy and undermine its effectiveness.
“We must fight back to make American manufacturing stronger—given how critical it is to our economy and ensuring Americans have jobs with family sustaining wages that contribute to the health of our local communities across this great country,” Newport testified.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Government/Policy
Leibowitz: Is the China truce real or a Band-Aid?
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday had a much-anticipated meeting. Is it only a hiatus in the trade war, or did it really change the situation? I suspect the former, I but hope for the latter.
Price on Trade: The foolishness of free trade with controlled economies
It was only a matter of time before a shutdown happened. And, no, we aren’t talking about the federal government’s lapse in appropriations. On Oct. 9, Beijing announced a series of restrictions that will effectively shut down exports of rare earth elements, magnets, and certain downstream products vital to advanced manufacturing.
Trump pulls plug on trade talks with Canada after anti-tariff Reagan ad
US President Donald Trump took to social media late Thursday night to announce he was canceling trade talks with Canada.
Leibowitz: Renewed trade war with China over rare earths
On Oct.10, President Trump announced major increases in tariffs on Chinese goods. The trigger was a new regime of export controls on rare earth metals and products using those elements, including magnets, capital equipment, and catalysts for catalytic converters in cars and trucks.
Industry piles on new Section 232 steel derivative inclusion requests
The Department of Commerce received 97 submissions from producers, manufacturers, and groups seeking Section 232 tariff coverage for steel and aluminum derivative products.