Media

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Biden should terminate Trump’s tariffs, not continue them

May 31, 2021

Amid reports of talks between United States and the European Union trade representatives to revisit Trump-era tariff policies, U.S.-based steel companies are urging the Biden administration to keep such tariffs in place. The tariffs, which are just taxes on American businesses and consumers, made no sense under President Trump and make no sense now. President Biden should drop all Trump-era protectionist policies...FULL STORY

WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.S. Manufacturers Blame Tariffs for Swelling Inflation

May 30, 2021

Economists and policy makers are debating whether stimulus spending and easy monetary policy are fueling inflation. Many businesses say there is another culprit that should share the blame: import tariffs. The Trump administration implemented tariffs on products including lumber, steel and semiconductors to shield American companies from a glut of cheap imported products from China and other countries...FULL STORY

THE CENTER SQUARE: Missouri manufacturers join call for Biden to lift Trump aluminum, steel tariffs

May 17, 2021

U.S. manufacturers report demand is up and with the nation poised to invest billions in the coming years on infrastructure, prospects are good for continued growth, including in Missouri where manufacturing employs 10% of the state’s workforce and contributes nearly $41 billion annually to local economies. But significant supply chain disruptions persist with U.S. manufacturers hamstrung by six-month waits for aluminum and other raw materials while a boom in automobile and appliance sales spike demand for steel and metals by 35% to 40% on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis...FULL STORY

STEELORBIS: US Steel Users Call on Biden to End 232 to Meet Local Demand

May 10, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU), which represents more than 30,000 US manufacturing companies and more than one million American workers, together with American trade association the National Foreign Trade Council and other groups representing steel and aluminum-using US companies, has sent a letter to US President Joe Biden requesting the immediate termination of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports...FULL STORY

STEEL GURU: 300 US Manufacturers Seek Immediate End to Section 232 Tariffs

May 9, 2021

A group of over 300 businesses manufacturing in the US, from family owned metal forming shops to nationally branded companies, sent a letter to US President Mr. Joe Biden today requesting the immediate termination of the Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs that were initiated three years ago under the Trump administration...FULL STORY

FASTMARKETS AMM: Coalition calls for immediate end to US Section 232 tariffs

May 6, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU), along with more than 300 US manufacturing businesses, asked US President Joe Biden to immediately terminate the Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs in a letter dated Thursday May 6...FULL STORY

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPORTATION: Hundreds of US manufacturing companies ask President Biden to terminate Section 232 steel & aluminum tariffs

May 6, 2021

A group of over 300 businesses manufacturing in the U.S.—from family-owned metalforming shops to nationally branded companies—sent a letter to President Joe Biden today requesting the immediate termination of the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs that were initiated three years ago under the Trump administration. Together, the companies represent a broad swath of a U.S. manufacturing sector currently struggling to meet demand and stay competitive due to supply shortages, long lead times, and artificially high prices for their key inputs. The letter was organized by the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, the National Foreign Trade Council and other groups representing steel and aluminum-using U.S. companies...FULL STORY

MODERN METALS: Hundreds Of U.S. Manufacturing Companies Ask President Biden To Terminate Section 232 Steel & Aluminum Tariffs

May 6, 2021

A group of over 300 businesses manufacturing in the U.S.—from family-owned metalforming shops to nationally branded companies—sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the immediate termination of the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs that were initiated three years ago under the Trump administration. Together, the companies represent a broad swath of a U.S. manufacturing sector currently struggling to meet demand and stay competitive due to supply shortages, long lead times, and artificially high prices for their key inputs.  The letter was organized by the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, the National Foreign Trade Council and other groups representing steel and aluminum-using U.S. companies...FULL STORY

BREAKBULK MAGAZINE: Debate over U.S. Steel Duties Intensifies

April 29, 2021

Despite rising pressure from a broad spectrum of U.S. manufacturers, the Biden administration appears to be in no hurry to lift hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum imported into the U.S. Those who oppose the duties contend keeping the tariffs in place will cause continuing harm, including further fracturing of global trade relationships and weakening of U.S. exports, while proponents see the tariffs as a stabilizing force for the U.S. domestic steel industry...FULL STORY
 

MARKETWATCH: How could Biden easily boost homeownership? First, end Trump’s tariffs on raw materials

April 17, 2021

Even without looking at prices, you can tell when real estate is hot. More people want to become agents, and more “house-flipping” shows are on TV. Why would anyone want to be an agent, anyway? There are fewer homes for sale now than at any time in nearly four decades — 1.04 million at the end of January, says the National Association of Realtors. Yet NAR says 1.45 million agents, up 4.8% from a year earlier, were competing to sell them...FULL STORY

CUTTING TOOL ENGINEERING: Coalition asks Commerce Secretary to terminate job-costing tariffs

April 14, 2021

Continued job losses and lost business can be expected if the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum are allowed to continue, according to a manufacturing coalition. In a letter to the new U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) disputed Raimondo’s assertion that these tariffs “have been effective,” a claim Raimondo made during a March 4 interview on MSNBC...FULL STORY

METAL MINER: Economic Policy Institute: Section 232 tariffs delivered ‘near-immediate benefits’

March 26, 2021

Three years have passed since former President Donald Trump imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.The administration cited national security concerns when imposing the tariffs. In addition, it aimed to raise capacity utilization of the US steel and aluminum sectors...FULL STORY

REASON: Biden, Democrats Are Locking in Trump's Tariffs

March 19, 2021

The Trump administration was able to reshape America's trade policy in large part because it simply decided to ignore anything that punctured its manufactured reality about how tariffs work. Economic data show that American businesses and consumers—not China—are overwhelmingly paying the cost of the tariffs? Send Peter Navarro out to do some television hits where he baselessly claims otherwise...FULL STORY

FASTMARKETS AMM: Raimondo mistaken about success of Section 232, metal manufacturers group says

March 19, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (Cammu) claims that United States Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was mistaken about the success of the Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs, and reiterated its call for their termination.While the tariffs might be welcomed by steelmakers, they are detrimental to US manufacturers and the wider economy, Paul Nathanson, the coalition’s executive director...FULL STORY

STEEL GURU: US Metal Users Coalition Seeks Termination of Section 232 Tariffs

March 16, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users Executive Director Mr Paul Nathanson in a 15 March letter to newly appointed US’s Commerce Secretary Ms Gina Raimondo of Department of Commerce wrote “The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum have damaged CAMMU members and other US steel and aluminum using manufacturers, placing them at a disadvantage when competing with global competitors...FULL STORY

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPORTATION: Coalition argues that data shows Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs hurt American companies

March 16, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU), representing more than 30,000 U.S. manufacturing companies and over one million American workers, released a letter today to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo providing data showing the continuing ineffectiveness of, and damage from, the Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports...FULL STORY

INSIDE U.S. TRADE: Senators re-introduce bill to expand Pentagon’s role in Section 232 probes

March 16, 2021

A bipartisan group of senators on Monday re-introduced legislation to reform Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 by delegating the authority to initiate investigations to the Defense Department and giving Congress a more substantial role in assessing any proposed restrictions...FULL STORY

BLOOMBERG: Senators Plan Bipartisan Revamp of National-Security Tariffs

March 15, 2021

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill to revamp a 1962 trade law that former President Donald Trump used to justify tariffs on billions of dollars worth of imports on national-security grounds. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act allows for duties without a vote by Congress if imports are deemed a national-security threat. The Trump administration used the legislation to put tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. Lawmakers complained about the White House’s actions, and the controversial duties have drawn legal challenges both in U.S. courts and at the World Trade Organization...FULL STORY

THE DEEP DIVE: US Manufacturers Face Growing Steel Shortage, Call on Removal of Trump’s Tariffs

March 1, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has created significant global shortages of numerous commodities, causing spot prices to soar to near-record highs. The latest shortage to grapple the commodities market has been steel, as a number of US manufacturers face struggles to meet new and pent-up demand...FULL STORY

CUTTING TOOL ENGINEERING: Metal manufacturers' group urges President to rescind tariffs

March 1, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the immediate termination of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports enacted under the Trump administration...FULL STORY

REUTERS: U.S. manufacturers grapple with steel shortages, soaring prices

February 23, 2021

An aerospace parts maker in California is struggling to procure cold-rolled steel, while an auto and appliance parts manufacturer in Indiana is unable to secure additional supplies of hot-rolled steel from mills. Both companies and more are getting hit by a fresh round of disruption in the U.S. steel industry...FULL STORY

REUTERS: Time to forget tariffs and reset U.S. aluminium policy

February 19, 2021

Indeed, one of Joe Biden’s first acts was to reverse Trump’s final-hour lifting of tariffs on aluminium from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “The available evidence indicates that imports from the UAE may still displace domestic production and thereby threaten to impair our national security,” he said, true to the spirit of the original Section 232 investigations. But three years of tariffs have done nothing to boost national aluminium security...FULL STORY

DRIVING AMERICAN JOBS COALITION: A New Call to End Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariffs: Key Takeaways

February 18, 2021

Last week, the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting that he “terminate” the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs as soon as possible and instead “re-engage U.S. trading partners” in addressing the “root cause of global oversupply in steel and aluminum: excess capacity in China...FULL STORY

METAL MINER: Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users calls for end to Section 232 tariffs

February 11, 2021

This morning in metals news: the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users called on the Biden administration to rescind the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs; meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration forecasts US energy-related CO2 emissions to rise after the mid-2030s; and, lastly, US President Joe Biden spoke this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping...FULL STORY

POLITICO: Steel Consuming Companies Urge Tariff Relief

February 10, 2021

A coalition of steel consuming industry groups want Biden to quickly remove the tariffs that Trump imposed on steel and aluminum imports in 2018 for the stated purpose of protecting national security. “By taking action to terminate the Trump tariffs, your Administration can prevent U.S. manufacturers from shutting down production lines, laying off workers, and potentially even closing their doors,” the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users wrote in a letter Wednesday to Biden...FULL STORY

S&P GLOBAL PLATTS: US metals end users urge Biden to drop Section 232 tariffs

February 10, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users sent a letter to President Joe Biden Feb. 10 requesting the immediate termination of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, stating that the tariffs imposed under former President Donald Trump have damaged metals consuming industries. The group said it was pleased to see Biden's executive order issued Jan. 25 to strengthen Buy America and other "made in America" programs that require, among other things, that American steel be used in federally funded projects, however with the tariffs in place and a "broken" exclusion process still in effect, it would be difficult...FULL STORY

LAW 360: Biden Faces Fresh Pressure To Remove Security Tariffs

February 10, 2021

A trade organization representing importers and manufacturers called on President Joe Biden in a letter Wednesday to reverse steel and aluminum national security tariffs, saying the levies have actually weakened the country by hobbling manufacturers and bruising trade relationships abroad. The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, or CAMMU, said former President Donald Trump's move to invoke a Cold War-era law...FULL STORY

BLOOMBERG: Manufacturing Group Asks Biden to End Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

February 10, 2021

A U.S. manufacturing group asked President Joe Biden to end tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, setting the stage for a debate on protective trade measures. The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users said the tariffs hurt family-owned businesses and fractured relationships with trading partners. A letter from the group asked Biden to end former President Donald Trump’s tariffs and to ask countries to address the issue of excess steel and aluminum...FULL STORY

FASTMARKETS AMM: Manufacturing group seeks end to 232

February 10, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) is calling on United States President Joe Biden to end the Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs, a position that puts it at odds with groups representing domestic steel producers. The group, which represents more than 30,000 manufacturers, argues that the tariffs have not been successful in expanding US steel capacity and instead have raised prices for domestic manufacturers, making their products less competitive and thereby endangering their survival...FULL STORY

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPORTATION: American Metal Manufacturers and users call on President Biden to terminate Section 232 tariffs

February 10, 2021

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU), representing more than 30,000 U.S. manufacturing companies and more than one million American workers, released a letter today sent to President Joe Biden requesting the immediate termination of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports enacted under the Trump administration. Imposed almost three years ago, the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs have damaged U.S. consuming industries that employ more than 6.8 million workers, compared to 140,000 in the U.S. steel industry. They also feed current steel supply shortages and high prices at a time when U.S. manufacturers face significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic...FULL STORY

INSIDE U.S. TRADE: Expecting trade to ‘normalize,’ U.S. to repeal tariffs on Canadian aluminum

September 15, 2020

Following consultations with the Canadian government, the U.S. will refrain from imposing a 10 percent tariff on non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum from Canada, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Tuesday. President Trump last month re-imposed tariffs on some aluminum from Canada because of what the U.S. charged were substantial import increases through May that “exceeded the volume of any full calendar year in the previous decade,” according to an Aug. 6 proclamation...FULL STORY

SNIPS Magazine: U.S. Manufacturers Confront the COVID-19 Pandemic

May 19, 2020

It is incredible how quickly the world changed for U.S. manufacturers in March 2020. In the first two months of 2020, small and medium sized manufacturers were expressing confidence that despite the burdensome and unnecessary Section 232 tariffs placed on steel and aluminum imports, 2020 would be a good year. In addition to terminating these tariffs, a top concern for many small and medium manufacturers was finding workers to fill the more than half-million job openings in the sector across the United States...FULL STORY

MARKETPLACE: Companies are worried tariff exclusions are getting harder to come by

February 4, 2020

The tariffs the U.S. has placed on Chinese imports come with exemptions — some lucky companies can get out of having to pay 25%, or sometimes much more, in tariffs. The Wall Street Journal crunched the numbers on those exemption requests this morning: the U.S. Trade Representative granted about 35% of requests to avoid two early rounds of tariffs. There are still tens of thousands of requests waiting for a decision. But of all the decisions made so far on a third round, only 3% have been granted...FULL STORY

METAL MINER: U.S. steel industry’s capacity utilization rate hits 82.3%

January 23, 2020

The U.S. steel sector reached a capacity utilization rate of 82.3% for the year through Jan. 18, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Production for the year to date reached 4.94 million tons, up 2.6% from production during the same period last year (when capacity utilization rate reached 80.4%). Meanwhile, for the week ending Jan. 18, 2020, domestic raw steel production was 1.93 million net tons at a capacity utilization rate of 82.7%. The weekly production total marked a 3.0% increase from the week ending Jan. 18, 2019, when production reached 1.87 million tons at a capacity utilization rate of 80.4%...FULL STORY

SNIPS MAGAZINE: Can President Trump really change steel import restrictions on Argentina and Brazil? It's complicated

December 4, 2019

President Trump announced via tweet on Monday that he was imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina due to both governments devaluating their currencies. These two countries previously had reached a deal with the Trump administration to avoid Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs by agreeing to quotas...FULL STORY

THE FABRICATOR: CAMMU letter to Senate Finance Committee urges sunset provision to Section 232 tariffs

November 22, 2019

A coalition of U.S. metalworkers and other manufacturing industries have reignited pressure to put an end to the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.

In a letter this week addressed to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) strongly encourages the committee to include a sunset provision for the steel and aluminum tariffs in any comprehensive 232 tariff reform legislation considered by the committee. The letter was also signed by the American Association of Exporters and Importers, Auto Care Association, Flexible Packaging Association, and National Foreign Trade Council...FULL STORY

Coalition Letter to Senate Finance Committee on Sunset Provision

November 19, 2019

On behalf of the members of the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU)1 , and the undersigned trade associations representing industries affected by the 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, we are writing to urge you to include a sunset provision for current 232 national security tariffs in any comprehensive 232 tariff reform legislation considered by the Committee. CAMMU is a broad organization of U.S. businesses and trade associations representing...FULL LETTER

REUTERS: U.S. trade groups urge Congress to rein in 'Tariff Man' Trump

September 19, 2019

Nearly two dozen U.S. lobbying groups have joined forces to try to rein in U.S. President Donald Trump’s power to unilaterally impose tariffs amid growing concern about the negative economic impact of his trade policies.

Led by the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), the groups on Wednesday said they had formed the Tariff Reform Coalition to urge Congress to wrestle back greater control over trade policy and increase its oversight of the president’s use of tariffs...FULL STORY

BOSTON GLOBE: From Western Mass., Trump’s trade war looks like a ‘fistfight’

August 19, 2019

To understand how a trade war is playing out beyond stock market gyrations and European economies, take the Mass. Pike west to a part of the state where manufacturing remains a way of life for many people.

“I don’t know a single manufacturer this has not affected,” said Kristin Carlson, CEO of Peerless Precision, which makes parts for the aerospace and defense industries. “The buzzword is China, but the tariffs go beyond China. . . . It’s a whole fistfight right now.”

President Trump’s extraordinary tariff war, which began in the spring of 2018, has had a ripple effect on the global supply chain, driving up the price of imported raw materials like steel and aluminum and imported goods like washers...FULL STORY

LAW 360: Bid To Limit Trump's Tariff Power Lands In Fed. Circ.

August 9, 2019

A group of steel importers looking to strike down the Cold War-era law President Donald Trump has used to set tariffs for national security purposes fired its opening shot at the Federal Circuit on Friday, telling the court that the statute is unconstitutional.

The American Institute for International Steel has spent the past year trying to wipe out Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which empowers the president to restrict imports that are deemed a security threat. According to AIIS, Section 232 effectively strips Congress of its congressional authority over tariffs and gives it to the White House...FULL STORY

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Chinese stainless-steel tariffs continue to negatively affect Insteel's quarterly profit

July 18, 2019

Another sharp increase in costs related to Chinese tariffs contributed to Insteel Industries Inc. having an 82.9% decline in third-quarter net income to $2.19 million.

Diluted earnings for the third quarter were 11 cents, compared with 67 cents a year ago.

Investors responded to the second consecutive sharp quarterly profit drop by sending Insteel’s share price down as much as 15.3% during trading before the stock closed at $18.73, down $2.26 or 10.8%...FULL STORY

PLATTS: Section 232 challenge continues despite Supreme Court denial: AIIS

June 24, 2019

The American Institute for International Steel's appeal of a lower-court decision upholding US President Donald Trump's Section 232 tariffs on steel will continue on its normal course following a Monday decision by the US Supreme Court not to hear the case, the steel importers association said.

"AIIS is disappointed that the Supreme Court did not agree to hear this case at this time. It is rare for the Supreme Court to agree to hear a case before a ruling by the Court of Appeals, and our appeal will now be heard by the US Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit," AIIS President Richard Criss said in a statement.

"We continue to believe that we have a strong legal case that Section 232 is unconstitutional. Once the Federal Circuit has spoken, we expect that the losing party will ask the Supreme Court to review that decision." FULL STORY

 

WASHINGTON POST: Steel industry begins to idle plants, shows signs of weakness — despite Trump’s support

June 19, 2019

U.S. Steel announced it will temporarily halt production at two domestic plants despite the boost from the Trump administration’s tariffs, as a steel industry singled out for federal support shows signs of weakening.

On Tuesday, U.S. Steel said it would temporarily halt operations at a blast furnace near Detroit as well as one in Gary, Ind., on the shore of Lake Michigan. U.S. Steel will be idling a third plant in Europe, the company said.

The closure runs in sharp contrast to the narrative President Trump has offered about the steel industry. Tuesday night in Orlando, as he formally announced he was running for reelection, Trump boasted about helping the steel industry through the use of tariffs on imports...FULL STORY

NORTHWEST INDIANA TIMES: Section 232 steel tariffs mark 1-year anniversary

June 6, 2019

The Section 232 steel tariffs imposed to help preserve the U.S. steel industry — in case it's ever needed in a time of war — turned 1 year old in June.

The 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on aluminum tariffs helped raise domestic steel prices, restore idled plants, like U.S. Steel's Granite Works in Illinois, and boost the profitability of U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal, two of Northwest Indiana's largest employers.

A study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found the duties helped raise the price of steel in the United States by 9%...FULL STORY

THE ECONOMIST: American importers of metals from Canada and Mexico gain relief from tariffs

May 23, 2019

Times have been tough for Riverdale Mills Corporation, a company based in Northbridge, Massachusetts. In June last year the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 25% on steel imported from Canada, which accounted for half the firm’s supply. As its business involves transforming steel rods to supply 85% of North America’s lobster traps, and 31 miles (50km) of security fencing along America’s border, its costs soared. “We were very, very disappointed,” said James Knott, its chief executive.

Disappointment has given way to delight. On May 19th President Donald Trump declared that steel and aluminium from Mexico and Canada no longer posed a threat to America’s national security, and the next day the tariffs were no more. “This is just pure good news for Canadians,” said Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister... FULL STORY

 

THE FABRICATOR: CAMMU releases statement regarding termination of Section 232 tariffs

May 20, 2019

Paul Nathanson, spokesperson for the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU), has issued the following statement on the agreement to end U.S. Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

“The Coalition welcomes the agreement to remove the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs from Canada and Mexico. We urge the Trump administration to terminate the remaining Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on our other trading partners as quickly as possible. These tariffs are damaging the U.S. manufacturing sector, and particularly downstream U.S. steel- and aluminum-consuming companies, by increasing prices and lead times for both domestic and imports of steel and aluminum and making the U.S. an island of high steel prices.

"We are also pleased that negotiators listened to U.S. steel- and aluminum-using manufacturers and did not replace tariffs with quotas, which are even worse for U.S. companies. This shows that our voices are being heard in Washington, D.C.” FULL STORY

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.S. Reaches Deal With Canada, Mexico to End Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

May 17, 2019

The Trump administration reached agreements with Canada and Mexico to end U.S.-imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and unwind retaliatory measures, removing a major barrier to the three countries’ new trade pact.

Mr. Trump hailed the deal in a speech in Washington, saying the U.S. “just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico and we will be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs.”

The U.S. agreed to drop its tariffs of 25% against Canadian and Mexican steel and 10% against their aluminum, while Canada and Mexico agreed to drop retaliatory tariffs against a wide range of items—roughly $15 billion worth of U.S. exports had been targeted—from metals to consumer products to food. Canada said its tariffs would end within two days; Mexico also confirmed the same timeline...FULL STORY

 

THE FABRICATOR: Are content provisions for fabricated metal products suggested in USMCA?

May 13, 2019

The new, very detailed report from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) makes it clear that the major manufacturing provisions in the proposed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) have to do with automobiles, and a key aspect of those provisions is steel and aluminum purchasing requirements. But it also might involve other fabricated products that include steel.

The bottom line is that 70 percent of the steel and aluminum used in cars and trucks manufactured in the U.S. would need to come from one of the three countries. The ITC report states: “Many vehicle manufacturers would need to modify their supply chains to fully comply with the new provisions, which would increase the cost of producing vehicles in North America.”...FULL STORY

WASHINGTON POST: Trump’s steel tariffs cost U.S. consumers $900,000 for every job created, experts say

May 7, 2019

President Trump has shown little interest in removing the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed more than a year ago despite growing evidence Americans are paying a hefty price for these tariffs and increasing pressure from Republicans in Congress to remove them.

U.S. consumers and businesses are paying more than $900,000 a year for every job saved or created by Trump steel tariffs, according to calculations by experts at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The cost is more than 13 times the typical salary of a steelworker, according to Labor Department data, and it is similar to other economists’ estimates that Trump’s tariffs on washing machines are costing consumers $815,000 per job created...FULL STORY

BLOOMBERG LAW: Manufacturers Snagged by Metal Tariffs Face Renewal Challenge

April 22, 2019

Steel and aluminum importers that obtained the earliest Commerce Department tariff exemptions are scrambling to get renewals before the original ones expire in June.

Companies complain the pending deadline adds new burdens to an already backlogged process that’s forced them to prepare months in advance for renewals while still waiting for the Commerce Department to rule on pending applications...FULL STORY

Coalition in the News