Steel tariffs back on the table?
The LA Times has a report that the administration is reevaluating the tariffs it imposed on steel imports in 2002. The article is here (free registration with the Times will be required): "Bush Team Is Said to Seek Lower Steel Tariffs". The article claims that internal administration opposition to the tariffs is coming from the economic team, headed by the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries, and that Bush's decision on what to do will be based on the job impact:
- "Bush approaches the November 2004 election with 2.6 million lost manufacturing jobs on his watch. Opponents of the tariffs blame higher steel prices that resulted from the duties for keeping 200,000 people out of work last year.
"The president's decision ultimately will depend on whether he accepts that analysis or one by steel producers that the tariffs have saved more than 10,000 jobs, including ones in key electoral states such as Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Michigan, advocates both for and against the tariffs say."
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