Trade Cases
June 21, 2018
Skeptical Senators Grill Ross Over Tariffs, Product Exclusions
Written by Tim Triplett
In testimony before a skeptical and sometimes combative group of senators Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did his best to defend the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and the controversial trade policies of the Trump administration. Despite his assurances that the process of reviewing product exclusion requests is on track, members of the Senate Finance Committee appeared unconvinced.
In response to protests of the tariffs—25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum—Commerce has established a procedure through which manufacturers can request exclusions for products that are not sufficiently available domestically. Ross reported that Commerce has received more than 20,000 exclusion requests for steel products and 2,500 exclusion requests for aluminum products and has posted more than 9,200 for public review and comment.
