Steelmakers have an impressive record of getting rates and avoiding them
Steelmakers have an impressive record of getting rates and avoiding them
The steel producers of EE. The United States, which prevailed in its push for the Trump administration to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, have also proven to be equally effective, and much more effective than many other industries, in avoiding tariffs they do not want.
In September, the steel producers requested the US Trade Representative. UU The aid in 132 tariff lines, mainly for raw materials and chemicals used in the steelmaking process that members of the Association of Steel Manufacturers import from China. They were able to eliminate 66, or half, of them from the final list.
In general, the EE. UU They removed almost 300 tariff lines from the list, which means that one out of every five removals was backed by the steel industry. A tariff line can refer to a single product, but sometimes it includes more than one.
Most of the other major industry groups had a much lower success rate in applying for exemptions on the basis that the rates will hurt the ability of members to do business, according to a Wall Street Journal review of more letters. from a dozen groups that submitted such requests to the USTR. For example, the National Federation of Retailers and the National Restaurant Association received less than 5% of the exemptions requested. The National Association of Home Builders obtained two of its almost 500 requested exemptions removed from the list.
The Association of Steel Manufacturers of 27 members, whose largest member is
Nucor
Corp.
He said that the tariff lines he pushed to eliminate include products that are not available from national sources, either because there are no EE producers. UU or because domestic producers can not supply enough of them. Many of the requests for help from other industries made similar claims.
Tax free
The industries had varying degrees of success in eliminating tariff lines from the final list.
National Federation of Retailers
In March, Mr. Trump undertook to impose Tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.. Steel industry executives had defended that effort, saying they needed tariffs to compete with cheap imports.
The industry continues to support the tariffs and business goals of the Trump administration in general. But "we wanted to inform the US Trade Representative about the impact these tariffs would have on certain products that are critical for domestic steelmakers," said Philip K. Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association. Regarding the relative success of the industry in lobbying for relief, Mr. Bell said: "It really is due to our hard work."
Even so, the highest success rate observed by the steel industry, which has close ties to the Trump administration, has provoked criticism of preferential treatment.
"All decisions on exclusions were made by career personnel at USTR," a USTR spokesperson said in a written statement. "By far, the sector that received the most exclusions by value was consumer products. We completely reject the idea that favoritism played any part in this process. "
More than 6,000 letters were sent by different business groups, small business owners and corporations that requested exemptions from the final list.
The National Retail Federation, whose members include
Amazon.com
Inc.
Y
Walmart
Inc.,
it requested the elimination of 1,100 tariff lines and was granted 48 of its requests, including high chairs and infant car seats. The Consumer Technology Association, whose members include giants like
International business machines
Corp.
Y
, wanted to eliminate about 400 tariff lines; 10 were removed.
The NRF said in a written statement that the list of final tariffs punishes US companies and consumers unfairly because it includes a significant number of products manufactured solely or mainly in China, and that it may take months or years for companies to find new suppliers. .
The CTA said it was pleased to see that the tariff line that includes parts for smart watches was removed from the list, but said retaliation rates are a "bad policy."
The National Association of Home Builders said that, ultimately, the rates will result in a $ 2.5 billion increase in home taxes.
The number of exempt tariff lines does not fully reflect the lobbying success of an industry, in part because some lines may represent a dollar value much higher than others. For example, the 66 steel industry exemptions accounted for about $ 600 million in Chinese imports last year, out of the approximately $ 8.3 billion of Chinese imports removed from the list. The total figure Excludes the tariff line for smartwatches. that
Apple
Inc.
and others managed to be eliminated from the list.
United States Steel
Corp.
, which is not part of the steel trade group, unsuccessfully requested that more Chinese imports be added to the latest tariff list, including tin-mill products. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said the exclusion of these products would likely cause "disproportionate damage to other US commercial interests."
The steel industry's ties to the Trump administration include Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, who He led the process resulting in global steel and aluminum rates. Earlier this year and for a long time he had been an investor in steel companies. The United States Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, previously spent two decades as a corporate lawyer, often representing the steel industry. Jean Carroll Kemp, a former staff member of Mr. Lighthizer, joined the steel trade association in January as a senior vice president.
The Association of Steel Manufacturers said that "it is not the only entity that hired former government officials for their experience and analysis of commercial issues, in accordance with post-government employment ethics standards."
Some trade experts and industry representatives say that the system is geared towards companies with more resources and access to government officials. "This type of process is relatively opaque and intrinsically prone to favoritism," said Clark Packard, a trade policy advisor at the R Street Institute of the free market, and a former Republican policy adviser. The process of requesting tariff relief requires the hiring of international trade lawyers, a group of attorneys that Mr. Packard said is "relatively small and expensive to retain."
"If you have a close relationship, you can file a case," said Kerry Stackpole, executive director of Plumbing Manufacturers International, which only eliminated four of the 75 tariff lines on the list.
Mr. Bell said there was no advantage to his steel industry group. "We just follow the instructions like everyone else and work hard to represent the interests of our members," he said.
-Anthony DeBarros contributed to this article.
Write to Josh Zumbrun in Josh.Zumbrun@wsj.com
.
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