glenn1
Lifer
What's gotten into President Bush? You're supposed to know better than this.... snap out of it already man! 🙁
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Bush Sets Tariffs on Steel Imports
President Opts For Compromise On Free Trade
President Bush imposed temporary quotas yesterday of up to 30 percent on most imported steel in an effort to give the ailing U.S. industry a chance to modernize and restructure. The action was a rare departure for an administration that has championed free trade both at home and abroad. But the president said it was an appropriate exception in the face of years of unfair trading practices by foreign countries that had "resulted in bankruptcies, serious dislocation and job losses" in the United States.
Industry executives, union leaders and politicians from steel-producing states generally hailed the president's decision, which fell somewhat short of what they had requested but was still the most aggressive action taken by a president to protect a domestic industry from imports since Ronald Reagan imposed steel import restraints in the mid-1980s. "This is keeping us alive, no question about it," said Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), who warned the White House that he might have to vote against free-trade legislation the next time it came up in the House unless something was done to provide relief to steel communities in his district.
"I commend the president for taking this step," said Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America, which turned out thousands of members on the Ellipse outside the White House. "I'm not sure it will do all that needs to be done to save the industry, but at least we have a ray of hope." Not all of the steel industry's allies, however, were fully satisfied. "President Bush deserves credit, but we have to put it in perspective," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). "The steel industry is drowning 40 feet offshore; the president has thrown them a 30-foot rope."
The president's decision was a blow to steel-consuming industries ? such as makers of auto parts and home appliances ? which conducted a furious lobbying campaign to dissuade him from adopting the tariff recommendations of the U.S. International Trade Commission. They argued that any tariffs would not only amount to a tax on consumers but would cost more jobs in their industries than would be saved at U.S. steel mills ? a prediction that even one top administration official acknowledged was probably correct. "This remedy, like all the other attempts to protect the U.S. steel industry over the years, will not save fundamentally mismanaged companies," said David Phelps, president of the American Institute for International Steel, an import group.
Indeed, most industry executives acknowledge that while the tariff regime may keep several thousand steelworkers employed for a couple of years, it will not be able to save all of the old-line integrated steel mills that make steel from iron ore in coal-fired furnaces. These integrated mills are at a competitive disadvantage not only because of the older technology they use to produce steel but also because of the added costs of paying a unionized workforce and more than half a million retirees who get pensions and health benefits from the companies.
Story link
Bush Sets Tariffs on Steel Imports
President Opts For Compromise On Free Trade
President Bush imposed temporary quotas yesterday of up to 30 percent on most imported steel in an effort to give the ailing U.S. industry a chance to modernize and restructure. The action was a rare departure for an administration that has championed free trade both at home and abroad. But the president said it was an appropriate exception in the face of years of unfair trading practices by foreign countries that had "resulted in bankruptcies, serious dislocation and job losses" in the United States.
Industry executives, union leaders and politicians from steel-producing states generally hailed the president's decision, which fell somewhat short of what they had requested but was still the most aggressive action taken by a president to protect a domestic industry from imports since Ronald Reagan imposed steel import restraints in the mid-1980s. "This is keeping us alive, no question about it," said Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), who warned the White House that he might have to vote against free-trade legislation the next time it came up in the House unless something was done to provide relief to steel communities in his district.
"I commend the president for taking this step," said Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America, which turned out thousands of members on the Ellipse outside the White House. "I'm not sure it will do all that needs to be done to save the industry, but at least we have a ray of hope." Not all of the steel industry's allies, however, were fully satisfied. "President Bush deserves credit, but we have to put it in perspective," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). "The steel industry is drowning 40 feet offshore; the president has thrown them a 30-foot rope."
The president's decision was a blow to steel-consuming industries ? such as makers of auto parts and home appliances ? which conducted a furious lobbying campaign to dissuade him from adopting the tariff recommendations of the U.S. International Trade Commission. They argued that any tariffs would not only amount to a tax on consumers but would cost more jobs in their industries than would be saved at U.S. steel mills ? a prediction that even one top administration official acknowledged was probably correct. "This remedy, like all the other attempts to protect the U.S. steel industry over the years, will not save fundamentally mismanaged companies," said David Phelps, president of the American Institute for International Steel, an import group.
Indeed, most industry executives acknowledge that while the tariff regime may keep several thousand steelworkers employed for a couple of years, it will not be able to save all of the old-line integrated steel mills that make steel from iron ore in coal-fired furnaces. These integrated mills are at a competitive disadvantage not only because of the older technology they use to produce steel but also because of the added costs of paying a unionized workforce and more than half a million retirees who get pensions and health benefits from the companies.
