Trade Cases
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/0bfd89b3bb6bb1b8b768d6763255ae27.jpg)
Consumer Trade Groups 'Disappointed' in U.S.-EU Deal on S232
Written by Tim Triplett
November 1, 2021
The deal just announced between the U.S. and EU to replace the Section 232 tariffs with a tariff rate quota and to cooperate in reducing climate-changing carbon emissions was seen as a breakthrough by many – but not all. Trade groups representing steel consumers and producers from other parts of the world expressed “disappointment” that the deal swapped one trade restriction for another rather than simply opening the market to free trade.
“News of a U.S.-EU agreement to end the existing Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs for a certain amount of imported steel is good news for U.S. manufacturers who continue to experience the highest prices in the world and long delivery delays. However, it is disappointing that the agreement will not completely terminate these unnecessary trade restrictions on our allies,” said a statement from the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users. CAMMU claims to represent 30,000 manufacturers who employ more than a million American workers.
CAMMU is concerned that replacing the tariffs with a TRQ will hurt its members because the threat of tariff reinstatement looms if passage of the infrastructure bill by Congress causes a new surge in steel and aluminum imports. “The U.S. domestic steel sector does not need protection from competition, and the U.S. should immediately begin negotiations to lift these damaging tariffs on our other close allies and trading partners,” CAMMU wrote.
“Saturday’s announcement that the United States and the EU have agreed to a tariff-rate quota system as a ‘pause’ in their 232-related steel and aluminum trade dispute…leaves much to be desired,” said Richard Chriss, president of the American Metals Supply Chain Institute. AMSCI, formerly the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), is a lobbying group that advocates for open markets and free trade for the metals supply chain, including foreign mills.
By not terminating the tariffs across the board and withdrawing the administration’s determination that EU steel imports are a national security threat to the United States, the agreement leaves in place a regime that has raised the cost of steel used in the construction industry, in consumer goods and in energy production. Since their inception, Section 232 tariffs have hit American manufacturers particularly hard. Because so many American manufacturers use imported steel products as inputs in goods that they later sell to consumers here at home, or in products that are sold overseas, Section 232 tariffs are a “made in America tax,” adding to the inflation hitting Americans hard in the pocketbook, AMSCI said.
“The EU is not, and has never been, a threat to U.S. national security in any context or to any degree. The administration should end the Section 232 tariffs, period,” Chriss said.
AMSCI also renewed its call for Congress to enact legislation that ensures closer scrutiny of executive branch decisions to employ national security-based trade restrictions.
Tim Triplett, Tim@SteelMarketUpdate.com
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/tim-triplett.jpeg)
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Trade Cases
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/fist.png)
Steel industry groups urge House action on LTPF 2.0
Six steel industry organizations have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to include the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act in any proposed package of legislation against China’s "unfair" trade practices.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/CRU-Logo-2023-07-21-at-4.35.41-PM.png)
CRU: Poor steel margins continue to push down raw material prices
Both iron ore and coking coal prices fell this week because of resistance from buyers. Iron ore prices have continued to fall throughout the past week, following sharp declines in steel prices in China, given no new policy announcement from the ‘Third Plenum’ meeting.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/CRU-Logo-2023-07-21-at-4.35.41-PM.png)
CRU: Imports cause concern in India and Vietnam
High levels of steel imports, especially from China, in recent months are worrying steel makers in India and Vietnam.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Price-Alan-FullRes-3000px-scaled.jpg)
Price: The new greenwashing – subsidies to bail out obsolete, excess capacity
The United Kingdom and other countries are using the “green” label to subsidize bailouts of obsolete, inefficient, and excess capacity that should exit the market. US steelmakers have invested billions of dollars in technologies that curb greenhouse gas output. These investments have been market-based and led by EAF producers such as Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and CMC.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/AISI.png)
AISI, AISC, University of Massachusetts get ~$6.4M EPA grant
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have received a grant to enhance emissions reporting for steel construction projects.