US Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) sent a letter to US Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross this week, demanding an explanation on how requests from US companies to be excluded from Section 232 tariffs are being handled. In a report from Politico, Johnson claimed the process is “arbitrary” and has cost Wisconsin businesses millions of dollars.
Johnson said in the letter that companies in his state have complained about excess hurdles in the process to be excluded from steel and aluminum tariffs.
“The Department’s denial of the exclusion request has resulted in [one] Wisconsin business incurring an additional $2.6 million tariff cost that can not be used to expand production or to pay salaries of new employees,” Johnson said in the letter.
Johnson requested that Ross supply his committee with data showing how many exclusion requests have been made and denied, along with how many objections were made by US domestic steel producers and how the DOC arrives at its final decision regarding exclusions.
So far, there is not enough support among Republican members of Congress to pass legislation that would require congressional approval of any national security-related tariffs, which is why Johnson is demanding the DOC brief his committee about the exclusion process within the next two weeks.