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US to repeal steel tariffs this week: Post
Washington, Dec 01: The Bush administration has decided to repeal 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel to head off a trade war and international retaliation against politically sensitive US exports, The Washington Post said on Monday.
Washington, Dec 01: The Bush administration has decided to repeal 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel to head off a trade war and international retaliation against politically sensitive US exports, The Washington Post said on Monday.
Quoting administration and industry sources, the newspaper said President George W. Bush would probably announce the decision this week.
The officials said they had to allow for the possibility that Bush would make some change in the plan, but a source close to the White House said it was "all but set in stone," the Post reported.
A spokesman for the White House denied a decision had been made to repeal the tariffs. "The matter is still under review and we'll make announcements when there are announcements to make," the spokesman told reporters.
The European Union, which is threatening to slap USD2.2 billion in retaliatory sanctions on US goods unless Washington removes the duties, reacted cautiously to the report.
"We have not heard anything. The most important thing is that Bush takes the right decision. We are waiting for him to do so," said European Commission spokeswoman Arancha Gonzalez.
The dollar, which has been hurt by fears of mounting US protectionism, responded positively, rising off all time lows against the Euro in early Monday trade.
Shares in European steel companies also gained some ground.
Ending the tariffs 16 months ahead of schedule could spark a political backlash against Bush in next year's presidential election in the pivotal steel-producing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The Washington Post sources said Bush's aides concluded they could not run the risk that the EU would carry out its threat to impose sanctions on citrus fruit from Florida, farm machinery, textiles and other products, all chosen for the maximum political impact.
A source involved in the negotiations said White House aides looked for some step short of a full repeal that would satisfy the European Union but concluded that it was "technically possible but practically impossible," according to the Post.
Speculation had mounted that Washington would scrap or roll back the controversial tariffs after it last week sought and obtained an effective delay in retaliatory sanctions by countries opposed to them.
The European Union, just one of a number of trade partners to take action at the WTO over the levies, has warned it is ready to impose the sanctions within five days of the WTO rubber-stamping the verdict of its top trade court that the duties are illegal.
The meeting of the WTO's disputed settlement body, initially set for Monday, was postponed for nine days until December 10 to give the United States more time to drop the duties.
The Bush administration imposed the levies, initially for up to 30 per cent, in 2002 to help defend the country's struggling steel industry against cheap imports.
Bureau Report
The officials said they had to allow for the possibility that Bush would make some change in the plan, but a source close to the White House said it was "all but set in stone," the Post reported.
A spokesman for the White House denied a decision had been made to repeal the tariffs. "The matter is still under review and we'll make announcements when there are announcements to make," the spokesman told reporters.
The European Union, which is threatening to slap USD2.2 billion in retaliatory sanctions on US goods unless Washington removes the duties, reacted cautiously to the report.
"We have not heard anything. The most important thing is that Bush takes the right decision. We are waiting for him to do so," said European Commission spokeswoman Arancha Gonzalez.
The dollar, which has been hurt by fears of mounting US protectionism, responded positively, rising off all time lows against the Euro in early Monday trade.
Shares in European steel companies also gained some ground.
Ending the tariffs 16 months ahead of schedule could spark a political backlash against Bush in next year's presidential election in the pivotal steel-producing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The Washington Post sources said Bush's aides concluded they could not run the risk that the EU would carry out its threat to impose sanctions on citrus fruit from Florida, farm machinery, textiles and other products, all chosen for the maximum political impact.
A source involved in the negotiations said White House aides looked for some step short of a full repeal that would satisfy the European Union but concluded that it was "technically possible but practically impossible," according to the Post.
Speculation had mounted that Washington would scrap or roll back the controversial tariffs after it last week sought and obtained an effective delay in retaliatory sanctions by countries opposed to them.
The European Union, just one of a number of trade partners to take action at the WTO over the levies, has warned it is ready to impose the sanctions within five days of the WTO rubber-stamping the verdict of its top trade court that the duties are illegal.
The meeting of the WTO's disputed settlement body, initially set for Monday, was postponed for nine days until December 10 to give the United States more time to drop the duties.
The Bush administration imposed the levies, initially for up to 30 per cent, in 2002 to help defend the country's struggling steel industry against cheap imports.
Bureau Report