The European Union has initiated new safeguard measures on steel imports to replace provisional ones introduced in July 2018. The measures are designed to protect the steel industry in the EU from excessive imports diverted there as a result of the Section 232 tariffs in the United States. An investigation into the potential increase of […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Congress started the year in international trade by introducing bills to limit presidential authority to order import restrictions. There are two significant pieces of legislation in the House and one in the Senate. I will briefly summarize the […]
Two manufacturing associations came out with opposing views on Wednesday to a new bill that would limit presidential power for the execution of trade measures under Section 232. The Bicameral Trade Authority Act of 2019, introduced in the House and Senate, would require congressional approval before the president could take trade actions, like tariffs and […]
A bill limiting the president’s authority to impose tariffs under the auspice of national security will be introduced in Congress next week. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) will introduce a bill that would require the president to obtain approval from Congress before imports could be restricted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The Court of International Trade (CIT) has rejected the U.S. Commerce Department’s finding that a “particular market situation” justifies steep antidumping margins against South Korean exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) to the United States. In a […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The dust hasn’t settled yet from the partial government shutdown that ended Friday night. Already, though, thoughts turn to the issues that divide us as a country. As a trade person, I naturally focus on that issue. You do […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: New 232 Lawsuit A new complaint against the United States was filed on Thursday, Jan. 17, by three U.S. importers of Turkish steel to contest the doubling of tariffs on Turkish steel into the United States. The plaintiffs are […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: A bill set for introduction today in the House of Representatives would, if enacted, fundamentally change the basics of U.S. policy on international trade. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) will introduce the bill, which was drafted by the Trump administration. […]
Don’t expect to have your Section 232 exclusion request looked at any time soon. The Commerce Department has announced that, due to the number of furloughed employees during the partial government shutdown, it will temporarily suspend processing of Section 232 exclusions. Contingency plans at the nation’s trade offices have dramatically reduced the number of people […]
With no end in sight for U.S.-imposed steel tariffs, United Steelworkers in Canada urge the federal government to keep safeguards in place to guard against foreign steel imports. “Our members themselves are appearing this month before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) to make the case for extending safeguard measures beyond the original 200-day period […]
The Commerce Department’s research on the national security implications of auto and auto part imports has generated numerous drafts, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, because “the picture keeps evolving.” The latest Section 232 draft includes three options for President Trump to consider when weighing if tariffs on the foreign auto industry would be good for […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: When the unusual happens, we often are jarred from our routine. I have experienced this since Dec. 21, when the government shutdown officially began at midnight (Dec. 22). The shutdown is “partial,” meaning that only certain government departments […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: When the unusual happens, we often are jarred from our routine. I have experienced this since Dec. 21, when the government shutdown officially began at midnight (Dec. 22). The shutdown is “partial,” meaning that only certain government departments […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: This is an update on the trade-related committees in the new Congress. The Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee are the congressional bodies with jurisdiction over most international trade matters. Senate The new chairman […]
The following was submitted by trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz. His contact information is at the end of the article. As we approach the new year, I have been reflecting on the next few months and what may come in 2019. One of my history professors in college often said, “change is the only permanency.” I […]
On Wednesday in New York, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of International Trade began deliberating a case that will examine the constitutionality of the Section 232 tariffs imposed by President Trump on imports of steel and aluminum in the name of national security. Opponents argue that such tariffs should be subject to congressional […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is interested in your views of the Trump administration tariffs. Following are comments shared by two SMU readers. To submit your opinions (anonymously if preferred), email John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Q: Do you think the Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs have accomplished what the president set out to do – improve national […]
A new American Steel Index report by Business Forward shows U.S. steel prices have risen 7.4 percent since February, while foreign steel prices have fallen 9.8 percent. As a result, American manufacturers are paying 17.2 percent more for hot- and cold-rolled steel than their foreign competitors. “President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum are increasing […]
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its support of the new North American trade agreement, but urges the administration to drop the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donahue cites the onerous financial impact the tariffs have had on Chamber members and urged their […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: In the week following the G20 summit meeting in Buenos Aires, there is more uncertainty than ever about the U.S.-China negotiations over tariffs. Early in the week, President Trump moved the deadline for agreement between the U.S. and […]
Calling it “a good day for the little guys” after a frustrating eight-month wait, Priefert Manufacturing Co. reports the Commerce Department has finally granted the company a one-year exclusion on a 10-gauge, 80-inch hot rolled product that is not made in the United States. Based in Mount Pleasant, Texas, Priefert is a service center and […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: On a very busy weekend, two major developments (potentially): USMCA Signed in Buenos Aires The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed by the leaders of all three countries on Friday. The agreement modernizes NAFTA in some areas and […]
A new North American trade agreement was signed on Friday by leaders of the U.S., Mexico and Canada at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires. The U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement, as it will be called by the United States, failed to address the Section 232 tariffs that were at the root of contentious negotiations. “The USMCA is […]
Some government and industry leaders praised the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that was signed by the three nations on Friday, while others remained critical of the trade pact, suggesting it was a missed opportunity to remove the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called the agreement a “work […]
Tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum exports to Mexico may be coming if the Trump administration does not drop its Section 232 tariffs on Mexican imports, says Mexican steel association Canacero. “They already agreed, this government and the incoming one, that we will apply resounding mirror measures,” Canacero Vice President Raul Gutierrez said at a […]
In response to widespread concerns about the pace, transparency and fairness of the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion process, a bipartisan group of senators has requested that the Government Accountability Office conduct an independent review of the Commerce Department’s performance. In a Nov. 26 letter to the GAO, U.S. Senators Doug Jones (D-Ala.), […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: On Nov. 21, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body conducted its regular monthly meeting. The DSB is composed of all WTO members and oversees cases brought under the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding. That is one of the 23 WTO […]
The North American auto industry is urging the White House to drop the Section 232 tariffs before the official signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). During testimony last week before the International Trade Commission, the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the American Automotive Policy Council asked the administration to exempt […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: It’s worth a moment to reflect on the end, one century ago today, of the First World War, “the war to end wars.” The Armistice led to a bitter peace and another even more destructive war, the effects […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Summary of Section 232 Exclusion Data As of early October, according to a comprehensive analysis by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, there have been 30,916 tariff exclusion requests for steel products. There have been 14,356 objections, […]