The US Department of Commerce is poised to approve a significant expansion of its steel tariff program after a second consultation in three months yielded requests to tax 700 new items. The deadline for submissions passed on October 21, attracting pleas from a wide range of American industries.
This new list of 700 items comes on the heels of a previous list of 407 products approved in August. Trade experts highlight a critical factor from that round: companies asking for products to be added to the tariff list had a “near 100% success rate.”
This precedent has fueled fears among global exporters, particularly in Europe, that the approval of the 700 new items is a foregone conclusion. A decision is expected to be made in December, 60 days after the deadline, with new levies potentially hitting importers as early as January.
The requests target a diverse array of goods that contain steel, including bicycles, commercial-grade baking pans, mattress springs, and some 200 different industrial machines. US companies, suchas Guardian Bikes and Red Gold, filed lengthy letters to the commerce secretary arguing for protection against foreign competition.
Analysts describe the Commerce Department’s criteria as a “very liberal, expansive approach” that has “almost zero requests for inclusion rejected.” This procedural ease is creating deep uncertainty for US trade partners, who feel their existing agreements on tariffs are being systematically undermined.