Former White House Top Economic Advisers Urge Trump Against Section 232 Tariffs on Steel
Fifteen former chairpersons of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers sent a letter (here) to President Donald Trump on July 12 urging his administration not to impose tariffs on steel pursuant to the ongoing Commerce Department-led Section 232 investigation into steel imports. “Among us are Republicans and Democrats alike, and we have disagreements on a number of policy issues,” they said. “But on some policies there is near universal agreement. One such issue is the harm of imposing tariffs on steel imports.” The former officials cited “media reports” indicating Trump is considering using his Section 232 authority to impose tariffs on steel because of a “putative threat to national security.” Top source steel countries are allies, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Brazil, and higher tariffs would likely harm U.S. relations with “these friendly nations,” after Canadian, United Kingdom, EU, German and Dutch officials have already expressed concerns about possible results of the probe, they said.
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The U.S. currently imposes more than 150 antidumping and countervailing duty orders on steel imports, including some as high as 266 percent, the former officials said. They noted that the World Trade Organization ultimately ruled against Section 232 steel tariffs assessed by the George W. Bush administration, and that the U.S. granted Canada, Mexico, Turkey, Argentina and Thailand exemptions in response to backlash over the tariffs. “Tariffs would raise costs for manufacturers, reduce employment in manufacturing, and increase prices for consumers,” they said. “We urge you to avoid a policy that would likely incur greater economic and diplomatic costs than any conceivable national security gain.”
A Commerce spokesman said the department is aware of the needs and concerns of stakeholders, and will soon submit its report to Trump. "U.S. businesses and other stakeholders should rest assured that [Commerce] Secretary [Wilbur] Ross takes a methodical, reasoned approach to all recommendations he makes to the President," the spokesman said. "Secretary Ross has a deep knowledge of the complex markets and supply chains that might be affected by any possible action on steel." Commerce has collected more than 1,600 pages of written submissions and received testimony from 37 individuals, he added.