Number of Exclusion Requests for Section 232 Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Still Growing
Even though steel and aluminum tariffs have been in place since March 2018, the number of exclusion requests continues to grow, according to an updated analysis from the free market-oriented Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The new portal opened June 13, and from that time to Aug. 27, companies filed an average of 4,427 requests a month. Between Aug. 28 and Dec. 6, the monthly average was 7,190. Members of Congress have repeatedly criticized what they see as arbitrary decisions, the fact that each exclusion is limited to the requestor, and the influence of domestic steel and aluminum producers on Commerce decisions (see 1910170066 and 1910300058).
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The Mercatus analysis only looks at that last issue, and finds objections are quite powerful in the process. “The government has yet to approve a single steel or aluminum exclusion request for which an objection was filed on the new portal,” author Christine McDaniel wrote.
Of the 31,126 steel exclusion requests filed on the new portal through Dec. 6, 16,595 were approved, one was denied, and 14,540 remain pending as of Dec. 6, the analysis found. Since the exclusion process launched, there have been 93,933 steel exclusion requests, with 50 percent approved, 14 percent denied and 36 percent pending. There have been 13,249 aluminum exclusion requests, with 49 percent approved, 7 percent denied and 45 percent pending.