A tariff deal between the United States and the United Kingdom that will allow the U.K. to export historically based sustainable volumes of steel and aluminum products to the U.S. market has American business, industry and labor groups applauding the deal.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the new 232 tariff agreement March 22, with business and labor leaders making their remarks March 23, according to a Commerce Department news release.
“When these tariffs were imposed in 2018, the Chamber warned they ‘would directly harm American manufacturers, provoke widespread retaliation from our trading partners, and leave virtually untouched the true problem of Chinese steel and aluminum overcapacity,’” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said March 23. “All of that came to pass. This deal marks a step toward remedying these problems.”
The Alliance for American Manufacturing said it welcomed the relief adjustment and noted the landmark auditing requirement for Chinese investment in British steel, the release reported.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine should remind us all just how critical the domestic steel industry is to our national and economic security. Section 232 quotas and tariffs have permitted the American steel industry to recover, invest, hire and contribute robustly to our national defense,” the alliance said March 23.
The United Steelworkers offered its support of the 232 agreement as a vital step to address threats to the vitality and future of the steel and aluminum industries like illegal dumping and global overcapacity. The USW said it supported the measures from day one as they help with job creation, production and spur investment in these sectors, the release said.
