Trump's Steel Tariff Threat Faces Resistance From Lawmakers
June 23 2017 - 5:59AM
Dow Jones News
By William Mauldin
WASHINGTON -- Senior lawmakers in both parties are resisting the
Trump administration's moves toward imposing steel tariffs on
national security grounds, worried that other countries could use
the same argument to block exports from their states.
The Commerce Department is expected to reveal the results of an
investigation of steel imports in coming days, a step that could
lead Mr. Trump to impose the most significant barriers to steel
imports since at least the George W. Bush administration. Critics
of the case -- known as a Section 232 investigation -- say broad
tariffs would lead to higher domestic prices for steel, hurting
auto makers and other consumers of the alloy, as well as generating
retaliation from trade partners.
"It will encourage others to restrict our exports, even in
unrelated sectors, which only hurts the growth of jobs and
paychecks here at home, " said Rep. Kevin Brady, the Texas
Republican who chairs the House committee that oversees trade
policy. "Done hastily, we raise costs and prove to our partners
that we aren't reliable."
The resistance in Congress is notable because lawmakers --
including many Democrats -- generally welcomed the Trump
administration's overall goal of getting tough on trade partners by
enforcing trade rules.
But some worry that the administration, by dusting off a rarely
used provision of U.S. law aimed strictly at security threats,
could open the door for other countries to bar a variety of U.S.
exports over national-security concerns.
Congress doesn't get to vote on tariffs imposed at the executive
level, but it could seek to repeal the law granting the president
such powers.
Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Kansas Republican, asked U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Lighthizer during a hearing on Thursday if
steel tariffs based on national security could lead other countries
to restrict wheat exports from Kansas for the same reason.
Mr. Lighthizer, the administration's newly confirmed point
person on trade, defended the administration's view that the
American steel industry is a vital part of national security, and
that protecting it with tariffs may be worth the risk to
steel-consuming industries and other sectors that could be hit by
retaliation.
"Steel, aluminum -- these are national security issues," Mr.
Lighthizer told the House hearing on Thursday, the second day of
hearings on trade. "The president will look at this very, very
hard."
So far, Mr. Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross -- who
is leading the steel and aluminum investigations -- have given few
signals about how the steel probe's findings or what Mr. Trump
might ultimately decide to impose as a remedy. Officials say the
steel probe should be finished by the end of the month, while a
similar Section 232 case on aluminum could take longer.
People close to the trade case say different parts of the
administration have strongly different views about what should be
done, making the case another example that pits "economic
nationalists" who want to defend suffering American industries
against officials advocating freer trade that benefits companies
more broadly.
"I know you get this: When we put tariffs or quotes on steel or
aluminum there will be a sweeping effect on American
manufacturing," Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill told Mr.
Lighthizer.
Her state of Missouri is home to transformer factories that
probably can't be supplied by domestic sources alone, beer brewers
that use aluminum for cans, and a machinery remanufacturing plant
that doesn't want to pay higher prices for steel, aides said.
Sixteen Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate on
Tuesday sent a letter to Messrs. Ross and Lighthizer demanding a
more thorough investigation of the steel issue, with more input
from those affected. The lawmakers complained of canceled briefings
with Congress and asked Trump administration officials to
"immediately brief committee staff on these matters and respond to
all member requests for individual briefings" before making a
decision.
"We have no idea what they're doing," Ms. McCaskill said.
Not all lawmakers are worried about steel tariffs, and some
believe a serious, carefully crafted move may be necessary as a
first step to global efforts to get China to decrease its steel
production, which U.S. producers blame for weighing on global
prices.
"There very much needs to be a global addressing of the steel
issue, and maybe Section 232 will bring this about," said Rep.
Sander Levin (D., Mich.), who is often a critic of the Trump
administration.
But some lawmakers say they want exclusions for the U.K., Canada
or other countries who are military allies. Some people following
the case expect Canada and Mexico could be granted exclusions as
the Trump administration prepares for a renegotiation of the North
American Trade Agreement, or Nafta.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his country's
lawmakers on Wednesday that he spoke with President Trump on why
Canada should be exempted from any curbs on steel imports his
administration may implement.
--Paul Vieira in Ottawa contributed to this article.
Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 23, 2017 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)
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