COMMERCE/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s pledge to quickly provide big import protection to U.S. steelmakers has gotten bogged down in ‘complexity,’ with no clear deadline for completion, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Congress on Thursday [7-27/17], according to lawmakers who attended the briefing.
‘The secretary used the word ‘complexity’ more than any other word,’ Michigan Democratic Rep. Sander Levin told reporters.
‘There are complexities as to what the other countries would do’ in terms of potential retaliation, Mr. Levin said. ‘There are complexities internally’ with the possible impact on other industries.
‘They were cognizant of the fact that there can be retaliation,’ said California Republican Rep. Judy Chu.
Mr. Ross’s focus on the potential difficulties and disadvantages of imposing new limits on foreign steel highlights how the administration has gotten increasingly bogged down in the details of implementing what officials had originally portrayed as a simple, clear solution to what they called a stark problem of cheap foreign steel.
After Messrs. Trump and Ross launched the study three months ago, they vowed action by the end of June. But counterthreats from trading partners and worries about higher costs from steel users, among other factors, have slowed the process down.”
-Jacob M. Schlesinger and Bob Tita, “Commerce Secretary Says ‘Complexity’ Has Stalled Trump Steel Protection Plan,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 27, 2017