U.S. Commerce Secretary Recommends Quotas, Tariffs to Control Imports
02/16/2018 - The U.S. Commerce Department has concluded that steel and aluminum imports threaten U.S. national security and should be restricted through hefty tariffs and quotas, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Friday.
Disclosing the findings of his department’s Section 232 investigation into steel and aluminum imports yesterday morning, Ross said he is recommending that President Donald Trump take one of three actions:
• A blanket tariff of 24% on all steels from all countries.
• A 53% tariff on all mill imports steels from 12 countries – Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam – and a cap on imports from all other countries. Imports from those other countries would be limited to an amount equal to what they exported to U.S., by product, in 2017.
• A blanket cap on all steel imports from all countries. Imports would be capped at 63% of the volumes each shipped here in 2017.
During a conference call with reporters, Ross would not say whether he has a preference for one of the options and would not speculate which, if any, Trump would impose.
Ross said that the goal is to return the industry’s capacity utilization to around 80%.
The measures do not come with any recommended expiration date, but the president would have ability to rescind whatever he enacts. The measures also would come on top of tariffs already in place.
During the call, Ross said that steel imports truly endanger national security, noting that China typically produces about as much steel in a month as the U.S. does in an entire year. And for certain types of steel, such as the electrical steel used in transformers, only one U.S. producer remains, he added.
Ross also pointed out that since 2000, six basic oxygen furnaces and four electric arc furnaces have closed. He said the import problem is really an excess global capacity problem, one that the world has discussed but has not begun to address.
“What we hope is that … other countries will join in the process and think about what they can do to supplement this set of remedies we’re providing,” Ross said.
“We’re not the only country that has an import problem in these areas. If other countries will adopt something similar to what we’re doing, then you have in hand the beginnings of a solution to the global problem,” he said.
• A blanket tariff of 24% on all steels from all countries.
• A 53% tariff on all mill imports steels from 12 countries – Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam – and a cap on imports from all other countries. Imports from those other countries would be limited to an amount equal to what they exported to U.S., by product, in 2017.
• A blanket cap on all steel imports from all countries. Imports would be capped at 63% of the volumes each shipped here in 2017.
During a conference call with reporters, Ross would not say whether he has a preference for one of the options and would not speculate which, if any, Trump would impose.
Ross said that the goal is to return the industry’s capacity utilization to around 80%.
The measures do not come with any recommended expiration date, but the president would have ability to rescind whatever he enacts. The measures also would come on top of tariffs already in place.
During the call, Ross said that steel imports truly endanger national security, noting that China typically produces about as much steel in a month as the U.S. does in an entire year. And for certain types of steel, such as the electrical steel used in transformers, only one U.S. producer remains, he added.
Ross also pointed out that since 2000, six basic oxygen furnaces and four electric arc furnaces have closed. He said the import problem is really an excess global capacity problem, one that the world has discussed but has not begun to address.
“What we hope is that … other countries will join in the process and think about what they can do to supplement this set of remedies we’re providing,” Ross said.
“We’re not the only country that has an import problem in these areas. If other countries will adopt something similar to what we’re doing, then you have in hand the beginnings of a solution to the global problem,” he said.
