Trade Cases
Leibowitz on Trade: Product Exclusion Process Off to a Shaky Start
Written by Tim Triplett
June 26, 2018
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 not sufficiently available in the United States. The Trump administration has imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. As of June 20, Commerce had posted 8,168 of the exclusion requests online and had rejected 2,513, in most cases stating there was “insufficient information to verify the product description and/or HTSUS code.”
“The applications were rejected for something as simple as an inaccurate Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code. Use of the arcane HTS codes is complicated and nuanced and easily subject to misinterpretation,” Leibowitz said.
Of the applications that were accepted, 42 exclusion requests were granted and 56 denied. The 42 that were granted cover seven different companies importing steel products from Japan, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and China. The seven companies receiving the exclusions include: Schick Manufacturing, Inc.; Nachi America, Inc.; Hankev International; Zapp Precision Wire; U.S. Leakless; Woodings Industrial Corp.; and PolyVision Corp.
Fifty-two of the 56 requests that were denied came from the following 11 companies: Material Sciences; Mill Products, Inc.; North American Fastener; Primrose Alloys; Scott Way; Seneca Foods; Wright McGill; Arrow Gear Co.; Bekaert; Midas International Group; and Stainless Imports, Inc. (The other four companies are unknown to Steel Market Update.)
“Of the companies that received approvals, the tonnages appear very small. The approvals are for just one year,” Leibowitz added.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Trade Cases
Nippon respects HR dumping decision, expects lower rate in next review
Nippon Steel says it respects the US Department of Commerce’s findings in administrative reviews despite the agency recently assigning the Japanese steelmaker a higher dumping margin.
CRU: Trump tariffs could stimulate steel demand
Now that the dust has settled from the US election, as have the immediate reactions in the equity, bond, and commodity markets, this is a prime opportunity to look at how a second Trump presidency might affect the US steel market.
Rebar import duties to continue for 5 more years
Import duties on rebar from a handful of countries will continue to be collected for at least another five years.
Leibowitz: Trump 2.0 signals Cold War 2.0 trade and China policies
China is one of the elephants in the room as the transition to Trump 2.0 continues. While the people and policies are still being formulated, it’s possible to detect a strategy for the new Trump administration. I think there are two imperative issues that the new administration needs to balance. The Trump strategy will, I believe, follow the following points. First, trade is one of the issues that got President Trump elected in 2016 and 2024—it nearly got him elected in 2020, save for the pandemic. If President Trump had won in 2020, I might be writing chronicles about the end of his eight years in the White House now instead of projecting what the next Trump administration would accomplish or break. Oh, well—that’s life. Trade will necessarily be a key feature of relations with China for the next four years.
Commerce says Nippon dumped steel in US in 2022-23
Commerce determined a significant dumping margin for hot-rolled steel imports from Japan's Nippon Steel.