Government/Policy
February 26, 2023
Written by Lewis Leibowitz
President Biden devoted a significant portion of his State of the Union address earlier this month on Buy American issues. As on most issues, “the devil is in the details,” but his general sentiment is clear. America, he believes, has sent jobs and wealth overseas by allowing Americans to buy imported products. This is a debatable proposition, but its current popularity is undeniable.
Mesabi Metallics has received preliminary approval for tax incentive terms for a proposed steel plant in Iowa, following a Nov. 10 meeting of the Lee County Board of Supervisors. The company, owned by India’s Essar Group, announced in late September its intention to build an electric-arc furnace steel plant in the state, which, if built, would be the largest in the US.
Imports of tin mill products from Taiwan and Turkey face new anti-dumping duties (AD) in the US after a key Commerce Department determination. In the trade case investigating allegedly dumped tin mill products, Commerce preliminarily determined that tin mill products from both countries are being sold below fair value.
Trade enforcement measures, including tariffs, should remain a bipartisan priority as a new Congress takes shape, speakers said during an event marking the release of a new report from the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM).
The election last Tuesday was a stunning rebuke to President Trump and many of his policies. High prices and pessimism about the economy were clearly on the minds of voters and the members of Congress they sent to Washington. Trade policy can help address those issues. Some trade experts think the new Congress could deal with tariffs on imports from Canada early on. I also expect hearings and new bills to more closely control presidential authority over tariffs. Much is unknown about what will happen come January, when new members convene. But some points are already obvious to those who see politics as a means to an end (governing) rather than as an end in itself (getting elected).
Canadian Minister of Industry Melanie Joly has urged that Canada’s Competition Bureau examine Cleveland-Cliffs’ conduct in the Canadian marketplace following its Stelco acquisition. Minister Joly sent a letter to Jeanne Pratt, Commissioner of Competition, on Friday, regarding testimony Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves made to the US Congressional Steel Caucus, and a subsequent interview to the CBC. oly said that in the Caucus testimony, “Goncalves stated that his company had acquired Stelco to ‘block’ it from selling into the US market.”