Steel Interests Tell Trump Not to Relax Section 232 Tariffs in Negotiations
Five trade groups representing steel producers asked the president not to allow "special arrangements," such as the one promised to the U.K., to eliminate or reduce Section 232 tariff coverage.
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In a letter sent July 25, they said, "We applaud your bold action to increase the tariffs to 50 percent, as well as to expand the tariff coverage to a broader range of steel derivative products and your strong stand against granting product specific exclusions from these tariffs."
The letter continued: "The Section 232 steel tariffs remain critical for the American steel industry, as global steel market conditions remain challenging and industry capacity utilization remains below the 80 percent utilization goal identified in the Commerce Department’s 2018 Section 232 report." Signing were the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports, the Specialty Steel Industry of North America, and the American Institute of Steel Construction.