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ROCKEFELLER WARNS ADDITIONAL EXEMPTIONS WILL UNDERMINE 201 REMEDY DECISION
-Rockefeller Disappointed with Administration’s Frail Commitment to U.S. Steel-

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In response to the list of additional 201 exclusions released late yesterday by the Bush administration, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) cautioned United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Commerce Secretary Don Evans of the detrimental effects the additional exclusions may have on the U.S. steel industry. Rockefeller urged the administration to limit the exclusions granted in the 201 remedy decision to only those products not available in the U.S. He also asked that domestic steel companies have ample time to respond to exclusion requests made by foreign steelmakers.

"When the president announced his remedy in March, it was more limited in scope and duration than many had hoped for; however, it had the potential to give the domestic steel industry some much needed breathing room," Rockefeller said. "Having heard the administration explain to domestic audiences that it is committed to taking the necessary measures to preserve the U.S. steel industry, I’ve been disappointed to hear the administration then counsel foreign steelmakers and their governments on how to neutralize the impact of those measures."

With today’s 46 additional exclusions–the second round of exclusions–nearly 250 products will be exempted from paying a tariff. Rockefeller said the additional exclusions will create holes in the system and allow foreign steel to continue to flood the U.S. market, squeezing out domestic steel and hurting domestic suppliers. Rockefeller noted, however, there is a role for exclusions: to ensure that steel-consumers are not hurt by tariffs applied to foreign steel products that do not have a U.S. counterpart.

But Rockefeller expressed his disappointment with the most recent exclusions under consideration because the administration appears to be responding not so much to avert bottlenecks in the U.S. economy, but by a desire to appease foreign governments who have criticized U.S. steel safeguards.

"It has been dismaying to read that several senior administration officials have told foreign audiences that much of their frustration over the impact of steel safeguards could well be addressed through the exclusion process," Rockefeller said.

In early May, Rockefeller, along with 12 other Senators, wrote to the president urging a halt in the rising exclusion requests from foreign steel companies; otherwise, the letter stated, the president would be undermining his own Section 201 remedies.

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