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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, June 8, 2002

61 steel imports get tariff exclusion

By Blair Pethel
Bloomberg News Service

WASHINGTON — The United States granted tariff exclusions yesterday to 61 steel products representing about 1 percent of the 13 million metric tons of imported steel hit with duties in March.

The exclusions, the first announced in a process that will continue on a weekly basis through early July, are aimed at ensuring U.S. steel consumers get products they need that aren't available from U.S. steelmakers.

U.S. trade officials, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the 61 products, imports of which last year totaled 136,000 metric tons, come from a broad range of categories, including plate, hot- and cold-rolled, stainless bar and wire rod, tin mill and welded tube, used in products including automobiles, appliances and highway guardrails.

They are also aimed at mitigating opposition to the tariffs, set March 5 by President Bush, from countries including the European Union and Japan.

Officials from the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative declined to reveal which U.S. companies requested the exclusions and which foreign producers may benefit.

In Hawai'i, Maui Pineapple, which operates the last remaining pineapple cannery in the state, requested an exemption to the March tariffs, which included tin-coated plate metal the company orders from Japan to make cans. It was not clear yesterday whether the exclusions yesterday would benefit the company.

The EU, Japan, China, South Korea and other steelmakers have challenged the tariffs at the World Trade Organization, saying they violate global trade rules.

Foreign steelmakers, including Arcelor SA, the world's largest, the U.K.'s Corus Group Plc and Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG, and their U.S. customers have sought a total of 2,000 exemptions from the U.S. tariffs and quotas for more than 1,300 different steel products.