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By scrapping steep tariffs on imported steel, President Bush puts himself in the middle of an electoral brawl between Midwest and Rust Belt states he will need to win re-election, even as he averts a global trade war targeting other political battlegrounds. Minutes after the White House announcement Thursday to repeal the tariffs, Democratic presidential candidates lambasted Bush as shunning the U.S. steel industry by caving in to threats from global trading partners. Even more telling, Republicans who usually ally with Bush from politically key Rust Belt states declared their dismay in what Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, described as "bad...

<p>President Bush yesterday lifted steep tariffs on imported steel, citing new evidence that the 21-month program had enabled sagging U.S. steel companies to restructure and become more competitive with foreign producers.</p> <p>"These safeguard measures have now achieved their purpose and as a result of changed economic circumstances, it is time to lift them," the president said in a statement.</p>

<p>President Bush's decision to end steel tariffs will hurt him politically in some key steel-producing states but will help him in steel-using states.</p> <p>In addition, he will avoid the politically devastating prospect of an international trade war.</p> <p>"I think it augurs well both politically and economically," said Rep. Joe Knollenberg, Michigan Republican, whose district has thousands of employees in manufacturing industries that rely on steel.</p>

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said on Thursday that the decision to end steel tariffs was based on studies showing the tariffs were no longer needed rather than out of fear of retaliation.Speaking to reporters at the White House after the Bush administration announced it was scrapping steel import tariffs 16 months earlier than scheduled, Zoellick said the decision stemmed from the administration's analysis that they were no longer needed rather than on a World Trade Organization ruling that they were illegal.``What I'm saying is this process was independent,'' Zoellick said. ``In other words, the decision that...

<p>The Bush administration on Thursday ended the protective steel tariffs it imposed last year, even as it scrambled to soften the blow to U.S. steelmakers.</p> <p>Mainly, the administration announced a beefed-up monitoring program to guard against a sudden flood of foreign steel coming into the country.</p>

WASHINGTON - Facing the threat of a trade war, President Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday lifted 20-month-old tariffs on foreign steel, a move that will hurt steelmakers in states critical in next year's election. Within minutes of the announcement, the 15-nation European Union (news - web sites) announced in Brussels that it was lifting its threat of sanctions on $2.2 billion of U.S. products. "These sanctions ... were there as a tool for compliance," EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said. "They've complied and the sanctions will disappear." To soften the blow, the administration announced a beefed-up monitoring program...

Bush Decides to Lift All Steel Tariffs Thursday December 4, 2003 5:16 PM By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Facing the threat of a trade war, President Bush has decided to lift all tariffs he imposed on foreign steel 20 months ago but will make permanent a beefed-up monitoring program to guard against a flood of foreign steel, congressional and industry sources said Thursday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick was scheduled to announce Bush's decision at midday. A congressional source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the White House was telling lawmakers that Bush had...

<p>EU, China May Drop Steel Curbs After U.S. Tariffs End (Update1) Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union and China may abolish curbs on steel imports after President George W. Bush ends U.S. tariffs, averting a trade clash that threatened to spread to products including textiles and fruit.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush likely will lift steep tariffs he imposed on foreign steel 20 months ago but soften the blow on the domestic steel industry by announcing new measures designed to protect against unfair foreign competition, congressional and steel industry officials say. The White House asked key lawmakers on the steel issue to return to Washington on Thursday, and a formal White House announcement was expected to come after they had been briefed. White House officials refused to discuss details of the president's decision, but congressional and steel industry officials, who spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity,...

When President Bush slapped steep tariffs on imported steel in March 2002, the risky economic gesture was viewed as a blatant move to win political support in the steelmaking states of the Rust Belt. It seems West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana were deemed so vital to his 2004 re-election bid, Bush willingly embraced the tariffs at the expense of shunning fellow conservatives, suffering the wrath of foreign trade partners and making a mockery of free market ideals. The tariffs of 8 percent to 30 percent on most steel imports from Europe, Asia and South America for three years was,...

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - President Bush picked up $850,000 in campaign contributions in the heart of America's steel industry on Tuesday even as he prepared to lift tariffs that have been helping the steelmakers. Supporters of the tariffs lodged a last-ditch effort to keep the protections in place. Bush heard arguments from Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter and U.S. Steel Corp. Chairman Tom Usher, a sponsor of the campaign fund-raiser which the Bush re-election campaign said had been planned long before the steel decision became imminent. Scores of steelworkers demonstrated near the Pittsburgh site of Bush's event. Administration officials said they...

With the White House signaling that President Bush would abide by a ruling of the World Trade Organization and lift the tariffs he placed last year on foreign steel, American steel makers angrily declared on Monday that he should resist doing so rather than give in to threats of retaliation from Europe. "This blackmail, this intimidation by Europe, is just further weakening our manufacturing base," Thomas J. Usher, chairman and chief executive of the United States Steel Corporation, told reporters in a telephone news conference. Mr. Usher insisted that the White House had not indicated what Mr. Bush would do,...

<p>December 2, 2003 -- Twenty percent of the nation's steelworkers could lose their jobs if the Bush administration repeals a controversial tariff, industry sources said.</p> <p>Steel executives oppose the repeal, saying it will lead to "painful" consolidation and the layoff of 25,000 to 30,000 workers. Sources say President Bush will repeal the tariff this week rather than face a trade war with Europe.</p>

<p>White House sources are leaking what has been rumored for weeks, which is that President Bush will soon reverse his worst economic decision and repeal his March 2002 steel tariffs. Markets reacted well to that news yesterday, but the important question is what lessons the Administration has learned from this protectionist fiasco.</p>

Bush to back down on steel and detainees By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 02/12/2003) President George W Bush is on the brink of making two concessions sought by Tony Blair with the lifting of steel import tariffs that threaten a trade war with Europe and to release scores of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In one of the most risky about-turns of his three-year presidency, Mr Bush is expected to announce the removal of most if not all of the three-year tariffs imposed for 20 months ago. About-turn: George W Bush British officials are also optimistic that many of the...

President Bush, on further cynical political calculation, has apparently decided to eliminate the steel tariffs he put in place 20 months ago. Threats of foreign retaliation arose after the World Trade Organization objected to the tariffs, states with lots of workers who actually buy steel might have been more upset than states with lots of workers who make steel would have been pleased, and the whole electoral calculation just started to seem too iffy. Goodness knows any actual belief in the rightness and benefits of free trade and free markets had little to do with it. As has been demonstrated...

WASHINGTON (AP) - White House advisers are urging President Bush to head off a global trade war by rolling back steep tariffs on imported steel, administration and industry officials said Monday. If he concurs - he is still reviewing the matter, the White House spokesman said - Bush risks alienating steel companies and workers in states that are important for his re-election. If he doesn't, a broad range of U.S. products could face retaliatory sanctions from Europe and elsewhere, angering other voters. A senior Bush adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several key aides and agencies, including the office...

2:35am 12/01/03 Bush administration to drop steel tariffs: reports By Steve Goldstein LONDON (CBS.MW) -- The Bush Administration will drop steel tariffs to avoid a global trade war, which would see European Union retaliation on products like Florida orange juice, multiple reports said Monday. The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal both said Monday the decision will be announced this week to drop the tariffs, which range from 8 to 30 percent.

<p>The Bush administration has decided to repeal its 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel to head off a trade war that would have included foreign retaliation against products from politically crucial states, administration and industry sources said yesterday.</p> <p>The officials would not say when President Bush will announce the decision but said it is likely to be this week. The officials said they had to allow for the possibility that he would make some change in the plan, but a source close to the White House said it was "all but set in stone."</p>

washingtonpost.com Bush Dropping Steel Tariffs to Avert Trade War Mixed Reaction Likely at Home By Mike Allen Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, December 1, 2003; Page A06 The Bush administration has decided to repeal its 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel to head off a trade war that would have included foreign retaliation against products from politically crucial states, administration and industry sources said yesterday. The officials would not say when President Bush will announce the decision but said it is likely to be this week. The officials said they had to allow for the possibility that he would make some...