U.S. Senator Calls For Revisions To Metals Tariff Exclusion Process

Maine’s senior senator, Sen. Susan Collins (R), recently asked U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jameison Greer to reopen the exclusion process for exemption from Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs in order to “address the hardship that tariffs have imposed on Maine’s lobstermen.” The senator argued, “Tariffs have contributed to higher prices on nearly all equipment that lobstermen use, including traps, clips, rings, and hoops, which have increased in cost due to the current 50 percent tariff rate applied on most imported steel and aluminum.”

Read the full text of the senator’s letter at this link.

As a reminder, MSCI presents all information regarding the Section 232 tariffs for its members’ information only.

In the past, MSCI consistently has argued that global overcapacity and other unfair trading practices, particularly by China, have harmed the U.S. steel and aluminum markets. To address this circumvention, in 2017 MSCI advised federal officials to provide relief for producers up and down the supply chain and to consider the consequences of any new trade policy, including: the economic impact of global overcapacity on the entire domestic metals supply chain; transition times and implementation rules to any new policy; availability of domestic metals to meet U.S. national security needs, as well as general industrial and consumer demand; and trade flows under current free trade agreements, including the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). MSCI also asked that Canada and Mexico be excluded from any trade penalties.

Click here to review all of MSCI’s advocacy on Section 232 tariffs.