[Q]The steep tariffs that President Bush imposed on imported steel 18 months ago have helped the beleaguered U.S. steel industry regain its footing, but likely have had a modestly negative impact on the overall economy and the woeful U.S. job market, the U.S. International Trade Commission has concluded.
The eagerly anticipated progress report -- completed Friday night, halfway through the tariffs' three-year duration -- will give both steel producers and steel-consuming industries such as automakers and tool companies ammunition for the fierce lobbying battle already underway in Washington over the tariffs' future.
Although the president is not required to make any changes to the tariffs, the World Trade Organization is expected in November to allow the European Union to impose billions of dollars in retaliatory import quotas on U.S. goods. The Bush administration's economic team, which was divided on the tariffs last year, is now united in its call to lift them by then. And some Bush political advisers fear the tariffs may have backfired politically, by costing the president more support in steel-using states such as Michigan and Tennessee than the support he gained in steel-making states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia. [/Q]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40505-2003Sep20.html
The eagerly anticipated progress report -- completed Friday night, halfway through the tariffs' three-year duration -- will give both steel producers and steel-consuming industries such as automakers and tool companies ammunition for the fierce lobbying battle already underway in Washington over the tariffs' future.
Although the president is not required to make any changes to the tariffs, the World Trade Organization is expected in November to allow the European Union to impose billions of dollars in retaliatory import quotas on U.S. goods. The Bush administration's economic team, which was divided on the tariffs last year, is now united in its call to lift them by then. And some Bush political advisers fear the tariffs may have backfired politically, by costing the president more support in steel-using states such as Michigan and Tennessee than the support he gained in steel-making states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia. [/Q]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40505-2003Sep20.html