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Fog afflicts all wars, those over trade in particular. And no fog is thicker than that created by the age-old national-security rationale for trade restrictions, applied most recently in defense of the tariffs imposed by President Trump on March 8 (and then delayed for Canada and Mexico until June 1) on steel imports, under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962... FULL STORY

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Tuesday she expected the United States to set a limit on steel and aluminum coming from Europe even if it decides not to impose import duties... FULL STORY

President Trump is merging his national security and trade goals in a blur of tactical improvisation that risks alienating U.S. allies and opening American businesses to costly retaliation, according to several Republican lawmakers, business executives and former U.S. officials... FULL STORY

As President Donald Trump considers new tariffs on imported vehicles and pursues a deal with China to avoid a trade war, economists and business leaders see a pattern emerging in the White House’s efforts to renegotiate many trade relationships: Open aggressively, then settle for incremental concessions... FULL STORY

After months of taking hits from the United States over North Korea policy and trade, Japan has decided that it will only be pushed so far, and is threatening to punch back.

On Friday, Japan notified the World Trade Organization that it was reserving the right to impose retaliatory tariffs against the United States in response to tariffs on steel and aluminum imports proposed by President Trump.

Japan has not yet filed a formal complaint with the W.T.O., but is signaling that it could impose the retaliatory measures if it does not gain tariff exemptions that it has been seeking from Washington... FULL STORY

The night Scott Wolfe, a U.S. Steel worker in Granite City, Ill., got his job back, he took his family out for a nice dinner for the first time in months. “It was a celebration,” said Mr. Wolfe, whose father and grandfather also worked at the plant.

Mr. Wolfe said he and other steelworkers directly benefited from the Trump administration’s March decision to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum from every country except Canada and Mexico.

“We waited a long time for tariffs,” he said. “If [Trump] hadn’t signed them, I believe I’d still be looking for a job.”... FULL STORY

While quota deals agreed to by the U.S. and other countries in exchange for immunity from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum could run up against World Trade Organization rules, analysts say the chances of a third-party challenge are slim due to litigation costs and other uncertainties.

The U.S. has agreed in principle to quota arrangements with Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and Australia and extended immunity from the tariffs to Canada, Mexico and the European Union until June 1.

While sources say the arrangements with Brazil, Argentina and Australia are still being finalized, the U.S. has pitched the quotas in a “take it or leave it” fashion, one said -- drawing comparisons to what are known as voluntary export restraints... FULL STORY

These are difficult days for a number of U.S. manufacturers who rely on steel and aluminum to make their products. The Trump administration’s recently announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum have raised the price of both metals significantly. And many of those manufacturers are not happy. CGTN’s Hendrik Sybrandy reports... FULL STORY

American companies took turns Tuesday beseeching the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to protect them from potential tariffs on China.

 

The hearings, which will run over three days, are an opportunity for the Trade Representative to get feedback on President Trump’s plan to impose $50 billion in tariffs on China for unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the trade law... FULL STORY

At a service center outside Cleveland, Majestic Steel receives and processes metal from U.S. mills, then stores it in seemingly endless aisles of rolled steel. Each cylinder weighs several tons and, after the steel is shipped to customers, its final form could take the shape of a household appliance or an office building. 

 

Some customers, such as those making license plates or road signs, need the steel as soon as possible. Others, such as those making garage doors or elevators for real estate, place orders several months in advance. That has presented a predicament for Majestic CEO Todd Leebow, since the uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariff policies makes it difficult to price steel that far in advance... FULL STORY

The Trump administration has so far avoided a trade fight with Europe by temporarily exempting it from hefty steel and aluminum tariffs. Yet the move also extends the uncertainty weighing on small businesses that use those materials, a much broader group than you might think.

 

For example, Gary Cammack, the owner of Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center, South Dakota, is worried that he will have to raise prices on steel barbed wire that he sells to area ranchers, from $60.95 a roll to as high as $67... FULL STORY

The American Institute for International Steel and the newly formed Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users are calling on President Trump to prioritize dialogue on steel and aluminum over Section 232 restrictions to resolve broader overcapacity issues, reiterating concerns about harm to U.S. consumers.

 

The U.S. on Monday decided to extend by one month its tariff exclusions for Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The U.S also reached agreements in principle with Australia, Argentina and Brazil, as well as a final agreement with South Korea. In all of the Section 232 negotiations, the White House said, the administration “is focused on quotas that will restrain imports, prevent transshipment, and protect the national security.”... FULL STORY

Manufacturers are racing to shore up supplies of steel and aluminum, as the Trump administration considers an end to some tariff exemptions on Tuesday that could tighten supplies and push prices of both metals up further.

 

Qualtek Manufacturing Inc., a Colorado-based stamper of metal parts for medical equipment, has seen the delivery time for aluminum double to 14 weeks since the tariffs took effect in March. Chief Executive Troy Roberts said he’s also waiting twice as long and paying 35% more for stainless steel... FULL STORY

Economists and industry leaders predicted price increases and potential jobs losses after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. What may have seemed like rhetoric is now reality.

 

The sneaky brilliance of the tariffs is that benefits are concentrated to a small, politically connected, and very vocal few, while costs for American consumers are widely dispersed... FULL STORY

With the slogan “tariffs are taxes,” a diverse array of steel- and aluminum-using manufacturers from across the United States launched a new coalition yesterday focused on terminating the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users represents a wide range of US manufacturing interests, from metal formers to machinists to food equipment manufacturers and more who are already seeing the damaging results from the 25-percent steel tariffs and 10-percent aluminum tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on March 23…

Under the banner “Tariffs are Taxes,” a group of manufacturers who heavily use steel and aluminum in their products launched a coalition on Wednesday opposing the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed in March by President Donald Trump. “These tariffs will do nothing to uphold their stated purpose of protecting U.S. national security,” coalition spokesperson Paul Nathanson stated in a press release. “They will instead hurt U.S. manufacturers in the near term by raising the price of the essential inputs they need to make finished products, and do long-term harm to domestic steel producers by eroding their own customer base.”…

U.S. manufacturing groups on Wednesday launched a coalition of metal users representing more than 30,000 companies in opposition to the Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel imports levied by the administration last month. The “Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users” -- composed of six manufacturing associations -- teamed up with the American Institute for International Steel on Wednesday to question the Commerce Department’s determination, made in both Section 232 reports released on Feb. 16, that trade restrictions were needed to “enable U.S. steel producers to operate at an 80 percent or better average capacity utilization rate based on available capacity in 2017.”…

Rising costs. Delayed shipments. A baffling bureaucracy. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported aluminum and steel are disrupting business for American companies that buy those metals, and many are pressing for relief. Hundreds of companies are asking the Commerce Department to exempt them from the 25 percent steel tariff and the 10 percent aluminum tariff…

Small and medium-size U.S. manufacturers hurt by President Donald Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum announced a new coalition Wednesday aimed at killing the measures. Trump's decision to impose the tariffs "really cuts us off at the knees," Troy Roberts, CEO of Qualtek Manufacturing in Colorado Springs, Colo., said at a press conference. "It goes way beyond the benefits that we got from the tax reform and the regulatory reform." Roberts is also a vice chairman of the Precision Metalforming Association, one of seven groups that have formed the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users to persuade Trump to remove the new duties…

Conservatives rightly criticized President Obama for stretching the law to issue executive edicts. The same scrutiny should attend the Trump Administration’s dubious use of national security and Section 232 to justify its new tariffs on steel and aluminum…

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all but ruled out advancing legislation to undo President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, saying that such an action would be unlikely to succeed…

The Trade Partnership, a Washington-based analytical firm, now estimates Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs will cost 495,136 jobs in the services, manufacturing and agricultural sectors, up from its earlier estimate of 179,334…

The European Union should unite in response to any U.S. tariffs on its steel and aluminum exports — and it could retaliate alongside nations from outside Europe, the French economy and finance minister told CNBC...

President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, authorized last Thursday, will likely come with costs to the global economic and diplomatic order that exceed their domestic benefits…

As steelmakers cheer tariffs that could encourage more domestic production, industries that use the metal are concerned about the ramifications increased raw material prices could have on their businesses…

President Trump isn't the first to impose steel tariffs in the U.S. NPR's Michel Martin talks to Trans-Matic Manufacturing President PJ Thompson about how his company adapted to steel tariffs in 2002…

President Donald Trump fulfilled a long-running campaign promise Thursday in levying tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products after a week of build-up to the announcement…

The Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports drew warnings Friday from businesses and U.S. trading partners that the measure could backfire, provoking a trade war without resolving the problems it’s intended to address…

United States industries that consume steel and aluminum harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s decision yesterday to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports…

PMA President Emeritus Bill Gaskin is interviewed for New Day on CNN…

The European Union will impose safeguard measures on a variety of U.S. products – including steel and aluminum – to “rebalance” any economic damages the bloc suffers if the U.S. does not exclude it from Section 232 tariffs, the EU’s trade commissioner said on Wednesday…

Small manufacturers that fashion metal into parts for makers of cars, appliances and other products fear they could be the hardest hit by new tariffs on aluminum and steel…

The steel industry is applauding the Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs of 25 percent on foreign steel, except from Canada and Mexico and potentially other U.S. allies…

While the tariffs on steel signed by US President Donald Trump on Thursday were less aggressive than the 25% blanket tax on all imports announced last week, steel users and lawmakers continue to voice concerns about the sweeping scope of the order…

President Donald Trump is expected to sign a decree this week laying out his plan to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum, sparing both Canada and Mexico, after people on both sides of the issue made final pleas to either scuttle the measure or ensure he doesn’t back off…

The typical new sport-utility vehicle rolling off a Tennessee assembly line contains 2,300 pounds of steel, but metal costs won’t surge quickly for automakers after the White House slapped higher tariffs Thursday on imported steel…

President Trump wants to sign a presidential proclamation tomorrow to set his steel and aluminum tariffs in motion, according to two senior administration officials. (More on how proclamations work below)…

President Trump is planning to offer Canada and Mexico a temporary exemption from new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, reversing his original insistence that the measures apply to U.S. allies as well as nations like China, administration officials said Wednesday.…

U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his pledge to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum Monday...

President Donald Trump has turned his steel tariffs from a tool for protecting national security into a bargaining chip offered to Canada and Mexico to seal a quick deal on Nafta…

President Trump's proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum have the potential to radically rewrite global trading rules, in a way that free traders won't like…

President Trump's tariffs could be in place by the end of the week. Many Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.), are livid…

Last week, President Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff, or tax, on steel imports and 10% on aluminum, sparking a big sell-off in stocks…

Speaker Paul Ryan’s office sent a mass email to reporters Monday, highlighting the stock-market uncertainty that followed President Donald Trump’s “trade war” rhetoric and recent tariff announcement…

House Speaker Paul Ryan warned Monday that President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could trigger a trade war, as the president sought to wrest economic concessions from Canada and Mexico by turning up pressure on the proposal…

President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports dimmed more than a year of growing optimism for many U.S. manufacturer…

As the manufacturing industry begins to get “its mojo back,” Miles Free thinks danger might lie ahead for the sector, especially if the federal government imposes tariffs on key raw materials…

President Trump’s announcement that he planned to impose steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum delighted some blue-collar industries he had championed…

President Trump’s protectionist id finally slipped its leash Thursday, spreading panic from Wall Street to C-suites and beyond….

President Donald Trump's pledge to impose sweeping tariffs on imported steel and aluminum has caused concern and even outrage among a plethora of American industries that rely on the metals…