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THE Bush adminis tration is about to abandon the controversial US steel tariffs it imposed 20 months ago, world trade officials suggested over the weekend. The speculation intensified after the European Union and other opponents of the tariffs deferred punitive sanctions against the US. The World Trade Organisation had been scheduled to formally adopt today a finding that the steel tariffs violate its rules. Such a determination would clear the way for European and Asian nations to impose retaliatory duties within a matter of days Australia is not directly affected by the US tariffs - it won major concessions for...

<p>U.S. Wins Steel Case Leeway, Sets Stage to End Duties (Update1) Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has gotten the approval of trade partners including the European Union and Japan to postpone a ruling that exposes $2.3 billion of American exports to extra customs duties, signaling the U.S. may end illegal steel tariffs, the EU and Swiss officials said.</p>

With an imminent trade war looming in response to America's ill-conceived imposition last year of massive tariffs on imported steel, the time has come for George W. Bush to take action to undo that incredible folly before the impending conflict torpedoes the US economic recovery and shatters the fragile world trading system. His visit to London affords him an excellent opportunity to correct his mistake before time runs out. Even before the steel initiative provoked the threatened retaliation by America's trading partners, it had already proved to be the single most economically damaging act of his presidency -- and potentially...

<p>Nucor Corp. Chief Executive Dan DiMicco said the U.S. tariffs imposed on foreign steel in March 2002 are necessary to remain competitive and he called reports of a compromise to end the tax "speculation."</p> <p>Tariffs allowed the U.S. steel industry "to go through the most massive restructuring and organization in the last 50 years and enabled it to get itself into a position where it can be more competitive globally," DiMicco said in a televised interview.</p>

The European Union wants to play tough. And the World Trade Organization wants to help out the EU. The WTO ruled this week that the 2002 U.S. steel tariffs violate international trade law. The decision clears the way for the EU to make good on its retaliation threats to the Bush administration. And soon we'll find out whether President Bush has the courage of his convictions. I hope that Bush demonstrates the same leadership on international trade he's demonstrated in geopolitics. The EU might want to think twice before it launches a trade war against the United States. The Europeans,...

<p>U.S. steelmakers reluctantly agreed to end tariffs on steel imports earlier than scheduled, after the White House urged the companies to seek middle ground and help it avert a threatened trade war.</p> <p>But the offer likely will face a tough audience in the European Union. European trade officials have shown little interest in compromising on the levies, which the World Trade Organization last week ruled were illegal. U.S. steel consumers, including automotive-parts makers, also aren't likely to be impressed by the compromise proposal.</p>

The World Trade Organization has ruled that U.S. tariffs on imported steel are illegal, setting the stage for a showdown with the international body and U.S. trade partners. The ruling, which was widely anticipated, provides U.S. President George W. Bush with an opportunity to signal his commitment to free and fair trade. It gives the administration cover to end a program that was politically expedient but has stained U.S. trade credentials and threatens to set off a trade war. Electoral politics may yet prevail, however, and the world must be prepared for a serious trade fight and yet more damage...

This is going to be entertaining. All the Democrats seeking to evict George Bush from the White House denounce him for "unilateralism," meaning insufficient respect for international institutions and obligations. Now some of those Democrats may turn on a dime and demand that he defy an international organization and disregard clear obligations freely entered into by ignoring the World Trade Organization. Last week the WTO said, for a second time, something that hardly needs saying at all -- that the tariffs the Bush administration imposed 20 months ago on imported steel are not justified by any demonstrated surge in steel...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is considering raising duties on at least five products in retaliation against import tariffs protecting the U.S. steel industry, the daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Sunday. Quoting Trade Ministry sources, the Nikkei said the products Japan was considering as targets for the retaliatory tariffs included coal, chemicals, steel, textiles and electrical machinery. If introduced, the tariffs would cost U.S. exporters $91.9 million a year, the Nikkei said. The U.S. imposed the duties on steel in March 2002. The paper said Japan would inform the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its decision to raise duties on...

<p>The Bush administration has been slipping into a familiar trap, making ominous comments about the perfectly normal rise of imports that invariably accompanies every economic expansion.</p> <p>Imports always grow most rapidly when U.S. manufacturing is expanding, and shrink only when U.S. industrial production declines. One reason is that U.S. industries are this nation's biggest importers. Industrial supplies accounted for 24½ percent of all imported goods in the year 2000, and capital goods for another 28½ percent. From January to December 2001, imports of industrial supplies fell from $27.1 billion to $18.3 billion, or 33 percent. Imports of capital goods fell from $28.8 billion to $22.5 billion, or 22 percent. Far from reduced imports being a boon to U.S. manufacturers, falling imports mirrored falling world demand for manufactured goods.</p>

<p>All the Democrats seeking to evict George Bush from the White House denounce him for ``unilateralism,'' meaning insufficient respect for international institutions and obligations. Now some of those Democrats may turn on a dime and demand that he defy an international organization, and disregard clear obligations freely entered into, by ignoring the World Trade Organization.</p>

There’s no such thing as a do-over in politics, but President Bush is about to get a rare second chance to make the right decision. In March 2002, the Bush administration imposed a tariff of up to 30 percent on several imported steel products. The president has the option of eliminating those tariffs. Doing so would undo some of the damage the tariffs have done to our economy, smooth over relations with our trading partners and strengthen the administration's free trade credentials. In retrospect, Bush's decision seems more political than economic. After all, the tariffs offered little hope to revitalize...

<p>If the Bush administration needs another reason to retool one of its worst policy decisions ever, it just got it. On Monday, the World Trade Organization ruled that the tariffs the Bush folks imposed on imported steel last year violate international trade laws.</p>

Strickland moves to confront WTO By MICHAEL SCHULER, Times Leader Staff Writer FOLLOWING THE ruling by the World Trade Organization Monday that Section 201 steel tariffs imposed by President George Bush in March 2002 are illegal, U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, announced he plans to introduce legislation to Congress to withhold funding or even possibly end U.S. involvement with the WTO unless changes are made to allow member nations to protect themselves against illegally dumped imports. Strickland, who was in St. Clairsville Tuesday to attend a Veterans Day service at the Belmont County Courthouse, discussed the pending legislation that he...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Under pressure from many of his top advisers to lift tariffs on steel imports, U.S. President George W. Bush may be moving in that direction to avert a trade war with Europe, Republican sources and analysts say. That could spark a political backlash from steel makers and workers in next year's presidential election. The White House said no decisions have been made and officials have not publicly ruled out the possibility that the administration could flout the World Trade Organisation by keeping the tariffs in place. Administration sources said Bush, who came to office championing free trade,...

Ineffective Steel Tariffs Now Illegal, Too NEW YORK - In a ruling that was widely expected, the World Trade Organization held yesterday that steel tariffs imposed by the U.S. last year violated international treaties, to say nothing of the Bush Administration's free-trade rhetoric. The ruling exposes U.S. exporters to more than $2 billion in sanctions unless the U.S. agrees to end quickly its illegal policy. If they go into effect, the penalty would be the biggest ever levied by one WTO member against another. As is typically the case, much of the discussion of the tariff policy has been its...

<p>The World Trade Organization surprised no one yesterday when it once again ruled that the 30% steel tariffs the Bush Administration imposed in 2002 are a violation of global trade rules. Now the question is whether the Administration will use the verdict as a convenient way to extricate itself from the tariffs. The other option is to sit by as the world levies billions in retaliatory duties.</p>

US goods set to double in price as Europe plans huge trade war By Stephen Castle in Brussels 11 November 2003 American jeans, Florida orange juice and dozens of other US products could double in price from next month because of a growing transatlantic trade war. The World Trade Organisation gave the European Union permission yesterday to impose huge import tariffs, which will allow price increases of between 8 and 100 per cent on a range of goods.

A global trade ruling against U.S. steel tariffs puts White House in a Mess WASHINGTON - A global trade ruling against U.S. steel tariffs Monday put the White House in the middle of a political and economic squeeze play as President Bush weighs the sanctions' fate - and his re-election prospects. Supporters and opponents of the three-year tariffs shelled the White House with arguments over whether to keep the sanctions in place in the face of a new World Trade Organization ruling declaring them illegal. The European Union has threatened $2.2 billion in retaliatory sanctions if the tariffs, imposed in...

American jeans, Florida orange juice and dozens of other US products could double in price from next month because of a growing transatlantic trade war.The World Trade Organisation gave the European Union permission yesterday to impose huge import tariffs, which will allow price increases of between 8 and 100 per cent on a range of goods.The row, which began when America imposed special duties of up to 30 per cent on European steel last year, reached a climax yesterday when the trade watchdog gave a final decision in favour of the EU. It said that the US action was "inconsistent"...