As Washington's summer weather heats up, so too does the debate on the steel tariffs imposed by President Bush almost 18 months ago.

Thanks to efforts by The PBN Company and lobbyists for the Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition Steel Task Force (CITAC STF) and the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee has directed the International Trade Commission to initiate a "Section 332" investigation to examine the impact of the steel tariffs on steel consumers. The Committee also directed the ITC to include this report with their formal midpoint review of the steel tariffs that is sent to President Bush.

By law, the ITC must report to President Bush at the midpoint of the three-year steel tariffs on the effectiveness of the tariffs. But, the law contains no provision for investigating the damage caused by the steel tariffs on U.S. steel consumers or the wider U.S. economy.

This summer, the ITC held its first hearings on the impact of the steel tariffs not only on the U.S. steel industry but also on U.S. companies who use steel in manufacturing their products.

The issue got even hotter when the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a formal finding on July 11 that the steel tariffs imposed by the United States violate WTO rules. The European Union has already announced that it would retaliate with billions of dollars of tariffs on U.S. exports, should the U.S. not abide by the decision. So PBN has been busy keeping the issue in the news -- and pressure on U.S. law and policy makers. An August 13 editorial in The Wall Street Journal said, "We have a modest proposal [for President Bush]: Repeal his own 30% steel tariffs." A month earlier, the paper also said of the tariffs, "It's time to cut the losses on the worst mistake of Mr. Bush's first term." Additionally The Chicago Tribune demanded, "Dump the steel tariffs," and other editorials in papers in Florida, Colorado, and Louisiana have urged an end to the steel tariffs as well.

Paul Nathanson, Senior Vice President of The PBN Company and head of its trade practice, stated, "The domestic steel industry has spent millions of dollars successfully lobbying the U.S. government for more than 30 years for protection from competition in the form of tariffs, quotas, dumping duties and other trade restrictions. While we are still fighting an uphill battle for President Bush to end the steel tariffs, no one would have predicted 18 months ago that steel consumers would have made as much progress as they have in making their voices heard in Washington's trade policy debate."

The issue comes to a head this fall. By November, the WTO is expected to reject the U.S. appeal of its decision on the steel tariffs, clearing the way for EU retaliation. President Bush will have to decide by then whether to continue, modify or end the tariffs on imported steel.

To view the July 11 WTO Panel report out on US safeguard measures on steel products, go to: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news03_e/panel_report_11july03_e.htm

CITAC Steel Task Force: http://www.citac.info/steeltaskforce

American Institute for International Steel: http://www.aiis.org