US steel exemptions turn out to be inadequate

US steel exemptions turn out to be inadequate

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced last week the list of exemptions for certain steel products that were slapped by tariffs of upto 30% in March under the safeguard measures. Corus and Arcelor have obtained certain product exclusions within the framework of these exemptions. It is reported that the exempted products are mostly concentrated on specialty steel. According to Reuters reports these exemptions are appreciated as sign of goodwill by these companies however they are expecting further exemptions to be announced by the US DOC. Only 1% of the total 13mio tons affected by the tariffs is exempted for the time being. Officials of Arcelor emphasize that financial burden is effecting the US steel consumer rather than the European producer as the steel prices in the US market are a third higher compared to January. Arcelor asked for 125 exemtions and got only 14 for the time being, i.e., less than 10% of what they asked for and Corus got only one sixth of what he applied for.