Democrats Prod Trump to Act on Steel Tariffs
10/27/2017 - U.S. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he’ll block nominations of two Commerce Department officials if the Trump administration doesn’t move on plans to impose new trade measures against imported steel and aluminum, reports The New York Times.
Schumer told The Times that he's frustrated that the process has dragged on.
“The bottom line is the president has been a total paper tiger on this issue, and as a result, we feel the need to hold up nominees for the Commerce Department,” he told The Times.
The Times has the full story here.
In another U.S. trade development, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the department has initiated dumping investigations into forged steel fittings from China, Italy and Taiwan.
“The Department of Commerce intends to act swiftly to halt any unfair trade practices, while also assuring a full and fair assessment of the facts,” Ross said in a statement.
The investigation arises on a complaint from Bonney Forge Corp. in Pennsylvania and the United Steelworkers union.
And in a separate matter, the Commerce Department has set preliminary anti-dumping margins of between 3% and 142% on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.K., reports S&P Global Platts.
