Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has filed a duty circumvention case against coated flat-rolled steel from Vietnam made from Japanese substrate. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker thinks that “minor alterations” such as coating represent an attempt to circumvent existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil from Japan. The U.S. Commerce Department has […]
At the direction of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Commerce Department will continue to investigate oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imports from Argentina, Mexico and Russia that are allegedly being subsidized and dumped in the U.S. at below fair value. In a Nov. 19 vote, the USITC ruled there is reasonable indication that […]
South Korea wants the U.S. to start negotiations to ease Section 232 on its steel exports as soon as possible, according to local media reports. The latest call came during meetings this week between U.S. trade officials and their South Korean counterparts in Seoul. “We once again delivered our stance and concerns regarding the Section […]
SMU’s Community Chat webinar on Wednesday will feature veteran trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz. We’ll talk Section 232, the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) with the EU, and the changing global trade landscape. The free webinar begins at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) on Wednesday, Nov 17. You can register right up to webinar time by clicking […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz The COP26 Glasgow conference on climate change just ended, yesterday, a day later than scheduled. The conference needed the extra day to hammer out a joint communiqué on what was agreed to and next steps. At the last moment, India threatened to torpedo the agreement because it contained strong language about phasing […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz Last Wednesday, it was my pleasure to join many readers on the latest Steel Market Update Community Chat. After a brief rundown of current issues affecting the steel sector and its customers, we had a lively round of questions, refereed by SMU Senior Editor Michael Cowden. We didn’t get to […]
SMU’s Community Chat webinar on Wednesday will feature veteran trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz. We’ll talk Section 232, the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) with the EU, and the changing global trade landscape. The free webinar begins at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) on Wednesday, Nov 17. More than 250 people have already registered. You can register […]
The U.S. and Japan have officially begun talks that could lead to an easing of Section 232 tariffs on Japanese steel and aluminum exports. Those negotiations are part of a broader bilateral discussion on ways to reduce excess steel- and aluminum-making capacity globally, most of which the U.S. says is driven by China. “The United […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz I summarized the newly announced trade deals between the United States and the European Union last week. I use the plural because a lot of issues were addressed in the statements that followed. Today’s column evaluates a few of the trends that are visible from these statements – notably on […]
SMU’s next Community Chat webinar will feature veteran trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz. We’ll talk Section 232, the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) with the EU, and the changing global trade landscape. The free webinar begins at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) on Wednesday, Nov 17. You can register by clicking here. Why should you listen? The […]
South Korea is pushing for “swift consultations” with U.S. trade officials about Section 232 following the negotiation of a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) with the European Union, according to local media reports. Seoul is concerned that the deal with the EU – which will allow approximately 3.6 million short tons of steel into the U.S. duty […]
Japan wants a waiver from the current Section 232 regime following the U.S. negotiating a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) with the European Union. The issue came up during a virtual meeting between U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Koichi Hagiuda, head of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, on Thursday, Nov. 4. Minister Hagiuda “strongly […]
U.S. mill CEOs generally praised the tariff rate quota (TRQ) agreement reached with the EU. But they stressed that enforcement would be key to its success. The United Kingdom, Japan and countries that have hard quotas – such as South Korea – are places that come to mind when one thinks of where a deal might […]
Speaking at a steel industry gathering just two days after unveiling the historic trade deal she helped negotiate with the European Union, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai described the progress made in steel trade and the challenges that still lie ahead in curbing global steel overcapacity. Following are her remarks today at the General Meeting […]
The tariff-rate quota, or TRQ, replacing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the European Union will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, per details of the agreement released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). A 25% tariff will be still applied after the quota limit – 3.3 million […]
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 […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz At the last minute, the U.S. and EU announced a deal to keep the tariff wars from getting worse. Yesterday, at the G20 meeting in Rome, the two sides announced an agreement that will prevent major retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports to Europe from going into effect on Dec. 1. […]
The U.S. and European Union (EU) announced a deal this weekend that removes Section 232 tariffs on imports from the EU and replaces them with a tariff rate quota (TRQ) system. The agreement ends a dispute dating back to 2018 when President Trump imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and it heads […]
The U.S. and the European Union (EU) could reach a deal that would lead to the removal Section 232 tariffs from steel imports from the trade bloc as soon as this weekend, according to sources familiar with the matter. The two sides would most likely agree to a tariff rate quota, or TRQ, which would replace […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has been traveling. She has a lot on her plate. In an effort to attract allies to the United States’ plan to rein in China, the U.S. has floated a proposal, according to reports, to replace the 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs with a […]
The U.S. will “move away” from Section 232 tariffs on steel from the European Union, Nucor’s top executive said. “What the final outcome looks like – whether it’s a tariff rate quota, we’ll wait and see,” Leon Topalian, president and CEO of the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker, said during a conference call with analysts on Thursday. […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz I used to love a PBS show called Connections. The title is still around, and I recall an episode years ago that explored the Space Shuttle. Thousands of “connections” were necessary before the spacecraft became a reality: chemistries to make substances capable of withstanding re-entry temperatures, power systems for rockets, […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz A reader turned me on to a recent column by former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. I have known Ambassador Lighthizer for quite a few years now. He is smart and an able advocate. But that does not mean we see eye to eye. The column, which appeared in the […]
Steel industry trade associations and other supporters of the Section 232 tariffs are strongly opposed to a bill introduced in Congress this week by U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) called the Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act. Sponsors of the measure say it is designed to prevent potential presidential abuse of “national […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz While Section 232 has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years, the antidumping and countervailing duty laws have been the mainstay of protecting domestic industries from steel to aluminum to solar panels to auto parts for many years. In the runup to the 2020 election, the Commerce […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz The Section 232 tariffs are uppermost on people’s minds again, according to questions I’m getting from readers. My view is that the tariffs (and quotas and “monitoring”) have remained because of politics and the lack of ideas for reconciling the irreconcilable. We need a policy that protects domestic steel (and […]
The week ahead could be pivotal for Section 232, infrastructure spending and the U.S. pivot toward Asia – all of which are increasingly interlinked, according to one policy expert. The Biden administration wants to ease or lift Section 232 tariffs on the European Union as part of efforts to form a broader coalition against China on […]
China should no longer get a “free ride” and be able to “back door” imports via the current language in free trade agreements the U.S. has with other countries, said a trio of senators last week in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The Market Economy Sourcing Act, sponsored by Sens. Bob Casey […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz The announcement last week that the U.S. would work to provide secret technology to Australia for that country to build and operate nuclear-powered submarines turned heads in the United States, but blew minds in France. The nuclear sub deal also terminated a $66 billion deal for France to supply diesel-powered […]
The end of summer marks a return to normal in Washington. Congress is back, and so are the president’s cabinet and advisors. This is the time of year for officials to float new ideas. In the international trade arena, American business groups grew increasingly impatient with the lack of ideas on resetting the economic relationship […]