On March 5, 2002, President Bush issued his decision in the Section
201 Steel Investigation. There were 16 product lines on which the International
Trade Commission (ITC) voted affirmatively or divided equally (3-3) in
their injury determinations. The President imposed safeguard measures on
14 of the 16 products. He determined that the tie votes on tool steel and
stainless fittings and flanges should be considered negative and did not
provide any safeguard measures on those products. On the 14 products, the
relief is in the form of tariffs on all but slabs. The nations hit hardest
by the tariffs include China, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine and Russia.
The safeguard measures announced took effect on March 20, 2002, and
will remain in effect for three years and one day. There is no "grace"
period for material that has already been purchased or produced, or is
in transit. The President will ask the ITC to conduct a mid-point review
of the remedy program and safeguard measures, and he can modify the program
as the result of this review.
The specific measures announced by the president are:
Slabs: A tariff-rate quota with an in-quota level of 4.90 million metric
tons during the first year, increasing to 5.35 and 5.81 million metric
tons during the second and third years, respectively. The duty surcharge
on imports above the in-quota level will be 30% during the first year,
followed by 24% and 18% during the second and third years, respectively.
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