Are imports of motor vehicles and auto parts a threat to the security of the United States? More than three out of four respondents to last week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire say no. Citing the same argument that it used to justify the tariffs on steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the […]
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce could normally be expected to support the policies of a “pro-business” president. But recent and proposed trade actions by the Trump administration threaten the nation’s economic resurgence and as many as 2.6 million American jobs, contend Chamber leaders. In a new analysis, the Chamber outlines the state-by-state impact of retaliatory […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The steel product exclusion process is stuck. While more than 11,000 comments have been filed, the overwhelming majority of which are product exclusion requests, less than 100 (by my latest count) have been processed. Of […]
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will go into effect on July 1 in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, said Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday. The tariffs on $12.6 billion of U.S. goods are equivalent to the value of steel and aluminum products hit by the Section 232 tariffs. Freeland, accompanied by Industry Minister […]
Steel imports fell by nearly a quarter from April to May as the Trump administration’s steel tariffs began to take effect, reported the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS). Imports fell 23.2 percent month-to-month to 2.89 million net tons, which was almost 16 percent lower than in May 2017. South Korea—which has agreed to a […]
The Corker amendment to require congressional approval of Section 232 tariffs by the administration has been denied a vote in the Senate despite receiving unanimous consent. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a strong supporter of the U.S. steel industry and the Section 232 tariffs, blocked the Senate vote arguing that adding the amendment to a new […]
ArcelorMittal Dofasco CEO Sean Donnelly told Ottawa lawmakers that U.S. tariffs may force the company to lay off 1,000 workers and reconsider investments totaling $564 million. During testimony at a special meeting of the House International Trade Committee, Donnelly and other steel manufacturers asked the government to hold firm on retaliatory tariffs against the United […]
The American Institute for International Steel and two companies have challenged the constitutionality of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. AIIS, along with Sim-Tex, LP, and Kurt Orban Partners, LLC, have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City alleging that the statute violates the constitutional […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross reported to the Senate Finance Committee last week that companies had submitted 20,003 product exclusion requests for steel and 2,503 for aluminum, seeking relief from tariffs on products they maintain are […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The year is now half over. The second half of the year will be even more interesting than the first. Here are the latest developments: Canada’s tariffs went into effect today, July 1. Tariffs of […]
Support is growing in the Senate to block President Trump’s use of Section 232 tariffs that have alienated the U.S. from its allies and the world, claims Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). Corker has proposed a bill that would curtail Trump’s trade authority by requiring congressional approval for the imposition of tariffs for national security purposes. […]
Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs are causing collateral damage in the case of one high profile White House-favored manufacturer. Harley-Davidson announced Monday that because of EU tariffs in response to U.S.-imposed steel and aluminum tariffs, the company will shift production of motorcycles for EU destinations from the United States to international facilities. EU tariffs […]
Turkey imposed retaliatory tariffs Thursday on $1.8 billion of U.S. goods in response to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. “Turkey is committed to active, robust and reciprocal trade relations with the US — but with the understanding that fairness cannot be one-sided,” Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said in a statement. “We cannot and […]
In testimony before a skeptical and sometimes combative group of senators Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did his best to defend the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and the controversial trade policies of the Trump administration. Despite his assurances that the process of reviewing product exclusion requests is on track, members of the […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: On Wednesday, during a Senate hearing on the Section 232 tariffs, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross offered some additional information on the volume of product exclusion requests he has received. As of June 20, there were […]
The Commerce Department’s procedure for filing requests to have products excluded from the Section 232 steel tariffs has been called confusing and burdensome by many companies, some of which have been thwarted in their attempts to file. Applications can be rejected for something as simple as an inaccurate Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code. In testimony […]
Major pipeline producers are seeking tariff exclusions for imported pipe used in pipeline projects currently in progress. Of the estimated 21,000 exclusion requests submitted to Commerce, more than 500 requests are for pipe and other energy-related materials. A report released June 18 by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) estimates 41,000 miles of […]
The European Commission announced that $3.2 billion in tariffs (€2.8 billion) on imports from the United States will go into effect on Friday, June 22. The “rebalancing measures” include steel and aluminum, agricultural goods and various other products and will remain in effect for as long as the U.S. tariffs on steel aluminum are in […]
India is fighting back against U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel by imposing higher tariffs on $235 million of American goods. The tariffs increase duties on 29 items including chickpeas, walnuts, almonds, lentil and artemia (brine shrimp). India, the largest buyer of U.S. almonds, has increased the tariff by 20 percent on almonds and walnuts […]
A meeting of the Global Forum on Excess Steel Capacity scheduled for Wednesday in Paris has been postponed until September as trade tension intensifies among world leaders. The agenda for the ministerial meeting of the 33-member Forum was to include discussions on preferential policies that China and other countries apply to their steel industries, as […]
The trade war with China has begun. On June 15, the United States announced it will place 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods. The announcement was swiftly followed by one from China imposing retaliatory tariffs in an equivalent amount. In a statement on Friday, President Trump said: “My great friendship with President […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The Trump administration announced new tariffs on China on Friday, covering about $36 billion in imports (2017 figures). Two lists were released. The first list consists of 863 tariff lines that will be subject to […]
Dan DiMicco is the outspoken chairman emeritus of Nucor Corp., a trade advisor to the president and current chairman of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, so it’s no surprise he is a strong defender of the 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods announced by the Trump administration this week. In […]
U.S. steelmakers filed trade cases this week on cold rolled and corrosion resistant (CORE) steels alleging that Korea and Taiwan are guilty of using the same circumvention tactics as the Chinese–namely sending hot rolled and cold rolled substrate to Vietnam. As many predicted, the Commerce Department’s recent Chinese circumvention ruling has set a precedent that […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest trade developments in Washington: • The Section 232 investigation into automobiles and auto parts is in the comment phase. The deadline for written comments is June 22. The hearing in the investigation is on July 19 and 20. If […]
Foreign-made automobiles and parts may soon be facing tariffs if the administration is successful in its investigation to determine whether imports of automobiles and auto parts threaten to impair national security. On May 23, the Commerce Department initiated a Section 232 investigation on imported automobiles and parts, noting that during the past 20 years imports […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico is requesting that government officials impose permanent tariffs on the import of steel slabs into Mexico from non-free-trade agreement countries. “Mexican slabs are without protection and we are working jointly and permanently with the SE to find a mechanism that could protect domestic production of slab from imports, which are impacting our ability […]
Speaking in support of the Section 232 tariffs, the American Line Pipe Producers Association is challenging recent claims by U.S. pipeline developers that they are unable to source sufficient quantities of large-diameter line pipe in the United States. The large-diameter welded pipe industry in the U.S. is operating at its lowest capacity in years—well under […]
Is Canada really guilty of the trade inequity that President Trump charges? We looked at two product targets of the administration—dairy and automobiles—to find out. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimates trade with Canada in 2017 totaled $673.9 billion–$341.2 billion in exports and $332.8 billion in imports, for a goods and services trade […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest trade news in Washington: Is there anyone out there who believes President Trump is not methodically alienating our closest allies? Yesterday, in what was clearly a deliberate attempt to provoke the other six members of the G7, President […]