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US Open to Changing Steel and Aluminum Tariffs, Greer Says
Administration Gets Pressure From Business Groups, Trading Partners
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signaled that the Trump administration is open to changing its broad tariffs on steel and aluminum amid pressure from business groups and trading partners.
鈥淵ou may want to sometimes adjust the way some of the tariffs are applied for compliance purposes,鈥 Greer said Feb. 17 on CNBC. 鈥淲e鈥檝e heard stories of companies that have had to hire extra people for compliance. We鈥檙e not trying to have people do so much bean counting they鈥檙e not running their company correctly.鈥
Administration officials have been working to narrow the scope of the duties, which not only touch the metals themselves but dozens of products that contain them.听
Companies have said the levies are difficult to calculate and the European Union has asked that they be reined in as part of its pending trade deal with the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. The White House has communicated to companies that adjustments are in the works, but the timing and details remain unclear, the people said.听
Greer said the underlying metals tariffs would remain calling them 鈥渧ery successful鈥 in boosting the domestic industry. 鈥淐learly, those are going the right direction. They鈥檙e going to stay in place,鈥 he said.听
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The review of the tariffs comes as Trump grapples with low approval ratings on the economy from Americans anxious about the cost of living, a dynamic that could threaten Republicans鈥 control of Congress in November鈥檚 midterm elections.听
Trump last year imposed a 50% levy on foreign steel and aluminum, a move that officials said was meant to take aim at Chinese overcapacity. The move wound up hitting other major trading partners hard, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the EU.
Later added to the duties were so-called derivative products that contained the metals, creating an arduous task for companies to identify the percentage of the materials in goods they sourced from overseas. 听
