President Trump has instructed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to give "targeted relief" from steel quotas to Argentina, Brazil and South Korea, as well as quota exemption for Argentinian aluminum, according to www.constructiondive.com.
The new policy also sets up the same case-by-case application process for quota exemptions that the Commerce Department has in place for tariff exemption requests; a group granted a quota exclusion does not have to pay the tariff. Steel orders placed before the tariffs took effect that exceed quotas can be brought to the U.S. under the new exclusion rule—once approved—but still are subject to the 25 percent steel tariff.
When Trump first imposed steel and aluminum tariffs in March, quotas were placed instead on steel imports from Argentina, Brazil and South Korea and on aluminum imports from Argentina. No tariff relief has been announced for U.S. allies such as Canada, which, along with the European Union, China and Mexico, have imposed tariffs on U.S.-made goods in retaliation.
Markets Insider reports the quota exclusion news affected U.S. steel manufacturers' stock prices Aug. 29, with the stocks of U.S. Steel down 6 percent, AK Steel down 4 percent and Steel Dynamics down 2 percent.
