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US steel producers have convinced the Trump government to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imported last spring. Before the round of customs duties of $ 200 billion on Chinese goods came into force last month, the steel industry also succeeded the reverse work: to remove some tariffs.
In September, steel producers asked the US trade representative for relief from 132 tariff lines. These were mainly raw materials and chemicals used in the steelmaking process that members of the Steel Manufacturers Association imported from China. They were able to remove 66 or half of the final list.
Overall, the United States removed nearly 300 tariff lines from the list, meaning that about one in five deletions were supported by the steel industry. A tariff line can refer to a single product, but sometimes includes several products.
Most other major industry groups have been much less successful in seeking exemptions on the grounds that tariffs would hurt members' ability to do business, according to a Wall Street Journal article on letters. more than a dozen groups who have filed such requests with the government. USTR. For example, the National Retail Federation and the National Restaurant Association received less than 5% of the requested exemptions. The National Association of Home Builders has removed from the list two of the nearly 500 exemptions requested.
The 27 members of the Steel Manufacturers Association, whose largest member is
Nucor
Corp.
, stated that the tariff lines it had forced to remove included products that were not available from domestic sources, either because there were no US producers or because domestic producers could not not provide enough. Many claims for relief from other industries have made similar claims.
Duty free
Industries have had more or less success in removing tariff lines from the final list.
National Federation of Retail
In March, Trump pledged to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The leaders of the steel industry had defended this effort, saying that they needed tariffs to compete with cheap imports.
The industry continues to support the tariffs and trade objectives of the Trump administration. But "we wanted to inform the US Trade Representative of the impact of these tariffs on certain products essential to domestic steelmakers," said Philip K. Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association. On the relative success of the industry in lobbying, Bell said, "It's really thanks to our hard work."
Nevertheless, the higher success rate observed by the steel industry, which has close links with the Trump administration, has led to criticism of preferential treatment.
"All decisions on exclusions were made by the USTR's career staff," said a spokesman for the USTR in a written statement. "By far, the sector that has received the most exclusions in value is that of consumer products. We totally reject the idea that favoritism played a role in this process. "
More than 6,000 letters were submitted by different business groups, small business owners and companies requesting exemptions from the final list.
The National Retail Federation, whose members include
Amazon.com
Inc.
and
Walmart
Inc.
has requested the withdrawal of 1,100 tariff lines and has been successful in 48 of its requests, including for high chairs and baby car seats. The Consumer Technology Association, whose members include giants such as
International Business Machines
Corp.
and
Samsung Electronics
Co.
wanted to eliminate almost 400 tariff lines; 10 were removed.
The NRF stated in a written statement that the final tariff schedule unfairly punished US businesses and consumers because it included a significant number of products made solely or mainly in China, and that it could take months or years to companies to find new suppliers.
The CTA stated that it was pleased to see the tariff line containing smartwatches parts removed from the list, while stating that the retaliatory tariffs were a "bad policy".
The National Association of Home Builders said the rates would eventually result in a $ 2.5 billion increase in housing taxes.
The number of exempt tariff lines does not fully reflect the success of industry lobbying, in part because some lines may represent a much larger monetary value than others. For example, the 66 iron and steel exemptions accounted for about $ 600 million of Chinese imports last year, out of about $ 8.3 billion of Chinese imports removed from the list. The total figure excludes the tariff line for smartwatches which
Apple
Inc.
and others managed to be removed from the list.
American steel
Corp.
, which is not part of the steel trade group, has asked unsuccessfully that more Chinese imports be added to the latest tariff schedule, including tin products. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said the exclusion of these products would cause "disproportionate prejudice to other US commercial interests".
The steel industry's links with the Trump administration include Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, who spearheaded the process leading to global steel and aluminum tariffs earlier this year. who had been investing for a long time in steel companies. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spent two decades as a corporate lawyer, often representing the steel industry. Former Lighthizer staffer Jean Carroll Kemp joined the Steel Trade Association in January as Executive Vice President.
The Steel Manufacturers Association stated that it was "not unique to have hired former government officials for their expertise and analysis of business problems, in accordance with the rules of the industry. post-government employment ethics ".
Some trade experts and industry representatives say the system is for businesses with more resources and access to government officials. "This type of process is relatively opaque and conducive to favoritism," said Clark Packard, commercial policy advisor of the free market think tank R Street Institute, and former Republican political advisor. The application process for tariff relief requires the use of lawyers specializing in international trade, a group of lawyers who, according to Mr. Packard, is "relatively small and expensive to retain."
"If you have a close relationship, you can stand up for your cause," said Kerry Stackpole, executive director of Plumbing Manufacturers International, which has removed just four of 75 tariff lines from the list.
Mr. Bell said that there was no benefit for his steel industry group. "We just followed the instructions, like everyone else, and worked hard to represent the interests of our members," he said.
-Anthony DeBarros contributed to this article.
Write to Josh Zumbrun at [email protected]
