Leibowitz on Trade: The Latest on Country Exemptions

Lewis Leibowitz, a Washington trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, reports on announcements this past week on Trump administration tariff exemptions/quotas:

• Argentina reached a quota agreement on steel, which means that imports from that country (mostly seamless pipe for energy use) will not pay the 25 percent tariff. They agreed to an annual quota of 135 percent of the three-year average of shipments to the United States. This translates, according to sources, to about 180,000 tons of steel. Much of that total will come as unfinished pipe to be finished in U.S. facilities. Tenaris has such facilities that rely on unfinished pipe from Argentina. The details of the agreement, including the quota categories, are not yet available. Argentina also agreed to quotas equal to 100 percent of the three-year average of shipments of aluminum to the United States.