United States steel tariff 2002
Tuesday, March 05, 2002
The steel tariff is a political issue in the United States regarding a tariff that President George W. Bush placed on imported steel on March 5, 2002 (took affect March 20). The tariffs were lifted by Bush on December 4, 2003. The temporary tariffs of 8-30% were originally scheduled to remain in effect until 2005. They were imposed to give U.S. steel makers protection from what a U.S. probe determined was a detrimental surge in steel imports.
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Some of the president's political opponents, such as Representative Dick Gephardt criticized the plan for not going far enough. For some of the president's conservative allies, imposing the tariff was a step away from Bush's committment to free trade. Critics also contended that the tariffs would harm consumers and U.S. businesses that relied on steel imports, and would cut more jobs than it would save in the steel industry. Supporters of the tariffs believed that U.S. steel producers were being harmed by illegal "dumping" of steel below the cost of production on world markets.
The WTO came out against the steel tariffs, saying that dumping was not a significant problem and that the tariffs represented an illegal barrier to free trade. After receiving the verdict, Bush decided to lift the tariffs, which had been drawing criticism at home from other important political constituencies, especially from automobile manufacturers and other heavy steel users.
President George W. Bush yesterday reversed himself by lifting steel tariffs, thus yielding finally to international law as agreed to in the World Trade Organization (WTO) accords and avoiding what is somewhat hysterically called a potential trade war. The administration's action has been hailed as a victory for free trade and for international law. It is--but only a half victory.