US imposes tariffs on steel

The tariffs announced were in proportion to the subsidies given by these countries to their producers of cut to length plates used in agricultural and construction equipment, bridges, ships, rail cars and buildings, the international trade commission said.

These subsidies helped the producers to artificially lower their prices, the commission said. It, however, exempted two producers in Indonesia and one in Italy that it said did not receive subsidies. Subsidies have the effect of artificially lowering steel prices and are prohibited under US and international trade laws. The final ruling is due later this year.

In a second ruling, the US International Trade Commission, found evidence of harm to US producers of a higher-grade steel product known as cold-rolled steel. This decision could lead to tariffs against up to a dozen countries, where producers are accused of "dumping" cold-rolled steel in the United States; that is, selling the product at prices below production costs or home-market prices.

The commerce department will now conduct a full-scale investigation to determine whether tariffs are appropriate on cut-to-length steel plate, a thicker variety. The US customs service, meanwhile, will collect a bond or deposit on some cut-to-length shipments in case tariffs are later applied retroactively. Earlier, the industry won punitive tariffs on Japanese shipments of hot-rolled carbon steel, the core product.