NAM Asks Bush For Steel Tariff Review

ByJohn S. McClenahen Although it does not normally get involved in specific industry issues, the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is asking for an official assessment of the tariffs the Bush Administration imposed on imported steel last March 5. As approved by its board of directors last week, the business group will send a letter to President Bush asking that he direct the U.S. International Trade Commission to assess the impact of the tariffs on both steel makers and steel consumers. The letter also will ask that the president appoint a blue-ribbon commission to come up with solutions to the economic problems facing U.S. manufacturing as a whole. The tariff issue has divided NAM's membership, which includes steel users that have complained about higher steel prices, as well as steel producers that, presumably, have benefited financially from the tariffs.