Ruling Upholds U.S. Steel Tariffs
he United States can maintain tariffs on steel imports from Japan, Russia and Brazil, after an independent trade panel found that removing the duties would harm the U.S. steel industry, Bloomberg reported Friday.
High steel prices over the past year have boosted the cost of producing trucks, components and tires. (Click here for previous coverage.)
Duties on hot flat-rolled steel of 20% to 50% boosted market prices when first imposed five years ago as a way to protect U.S. steel companies harmed by foreign competitors dumping products in America at below-market rates, Bloomberg reported.
Steel companies and lawmakers from steel-producing states such as West Virginia had urged the trade commission to see that the duties were kept in place, saying their removal would lead to a rise in cheaper steel imports, Bloomberg reported.
