A group of over 30 US trade associations sent a letter to President Joe Biden June 9, requesting an end to the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs and quotas on trade allies.

“The tariffs, intended to help the steel and aluminum producing industries, imposed substantial costs on a much broader segment of the US economy,” the group said in the letter.

“The restriction on the supply of goods and raw materials resulting from the tariffs has sent a ripple throughout downstream industries, disrupting supply chains and threatening the economic security of American workers.”

The coalition of trade groups said it represented multiple sectors, hundreds of thousands of businesses and millions of workers across the US. The letter was sent as Biden makes his first in-person trip to Europe as president for a round of meetings with world leaders.

“Our members rely on the movement of their goods and inputs without constant government intervention that causes delivery delays and arbitrary price spikes,” the letter said. “We encourage you to work with our national security and trade allies during your meetings in Europe in the coming weeks to lift the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs.”

The trade associations said they were encouraged by the White House’s recent announcement that the US and Europe would work together to address global steel and aluminum overcapacity and seek better trade solutions.

A removal of the tariffs would help to repair trade relationships with ally nations and lead to the removal of retaliatory tariffs, the letter added.

The association letter was organized by the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, or CAMMU, the National Foreign Trade Council and other groups representing steel and aluminum-using US companies.

“Since their inception, the 232 steel tariffs have caused a steadily increasing array of supply disruptions and price fluctuations for some of the most critical inputs used by US manufacturers, effectively handing a competitive advantage to overseas producers of steel-based products able to source their inputs at standard global market prices,” CAMMU said in a separate statement.

The correspondence from the trade associations follows a separate letter in May from over 300 US manufacturing companies that also urged Biden to terminate the tariffs.
Source: Platts