Ways and Means Chairman Brady Lays Out His Preferred Steel, Aluminum Product Exclusion Reforms

The Section 232 steel and aluminum product exclusion process is flat-out broken, according to House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and he said at least four aspects of the Commerce Department approach need to change. Brady, who was speaking to reporters at the Capitol on July 23, said the length of the exclusion -- now a year from the time it's granted -- should be longer. He said there should be a way to appeal a denial. If a product is excluded for one company, it should be excluded for all importers of the same product. And, he said, "we think you ought to grandfather major existing projects," such as pipelines under construction.

The fact that so many products that Brady believes are fairly traded are subject to the tariffs, and the fact that exclusion decisions are taking so long "works against the president's goals. He's asking for more time and patience," Brady said. "While there is a very strong support for the president challenging China, there is less support for the approach that many businesses and ranchers back home believe is too broad, sweeps in too many fairly traded products, and lands too harshly on American job creators rather than China and the bad actors."

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, will be meeting with President Donald Trump on July 24 to talk about what Europe could offer the United States so that its autos and auto exports don't get hit with tariffs in the future. Brady is not meeting with Juncker, but said he will be meeting with EU Trade Minister Cecilia Malmstrom while she's in Washington.

Because of the president's auto tariff threat, Europe has put forward the idea of lowering auto tariffs and "moving to zero tariffs on many of our industrial goods, which I think would be significant step forward," Brady said. "We think zero tariffs and zero subsidies for the developed countries is where we ought to go." Lowering the U.S. tariff on imported trucks -- currently 25 percent on countries outside NAFTA -- would be very unpopular with autoworkers. But Europe is unlikely to drop its 9.8 percent tariff on cars if the U.S. does not lower its tariff on trucks.