Reports in major newspapers and wire services are quoting unnamed Bush Administration officials as saying the Section 201 tariffs protecting U.S. steelmakers will be dropped soon, before retaliatory trade measures by other nations take effect.
A report in the Washington Post says the decision is “all but set in stone,” while other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, say the end of Section 201 protections is “widely expected.”
As of early Monday morning, the White House has not made any comment regarding the steel tariffs. “The matter is still under review and we’ll make announcements when there are announcements to make,” an administration spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.
The protective measures have been decried by the World Trade Organization. Additionally, the European Union and other nations have begun threatening billions of dollars in retaliatory sanctions against the U.S.
While most domestic steelmakers have favored the measures, opponents have included not only other steel producing nations, but also steel-consuming manufacturers within the U.S.
Among the signals that the Bush Administration is leaning toward abandoning the Section 201 measures was a move in late November, when the administration asked the WTO to delay its next procedural step against the U.S. for Section 201 until Dec. 10, giving the administration more time to drop the tariffs.
The Reuters news service speculates that ending the tariffs 16 months ahead of schedule could spark a political backlash against Bush in the 2004 election in key steel-producing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
But the threatened European Union counter-measures included tariffs on citrus fruit from Florida, farm machinery, textiles and other products that could harm other regional industries.