Bush To Lift Steel Tariffs

[Endangered Specie]

(CBS/AP) Facing the threat of a trade war, President Bush has decided to lift steep tariffs he imposed on foreign steel 20 months ago, Republican and industry officials said Thursday.

,....

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/01/politics/main586153.shtml

[ewagner]

1. My former Company

was directly affected by the tariffs.

The steel companies we did business with raised prices immediately after the tariffs were announced and then, over the course of the year, raised them twice more.

I won't get into the mismanagement of the situation done by our company, but I will say that we dealt with the agricultural industry and those price increases simply put a sudden, screeching halt to expansions and new construction which were then our life-blood. The farmers who were the end-users of our products simply couldn't afford to buy new equipment or purchase replacement parts because of the depressed condition of the dairy industry at that time.

[UpInArms]

2. don't you just love these anonymous sources?

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20031204_1133.html

Facing the threat of a trade war, President Bush has decided to lift steep tariffs he imposed on foreign steel 20 months ago, Republican and industry officials said Thursday.

But he will soften the blow on the domestic steel industry by announcing new measures designed to protect against unfair foreign competition, the officials said Thursday.

An administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Bush had made a decision and it would be announced later in the day.

While this official refused to disclose details, officials from the steel industry and Republican officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration would announce that Bush was lifting the tariffs on foreign steel imposed in March 2002 and originally scheduled to be in effect for three years.

...more...

and yet, there the thing was - in the Oval Office photo session - but he could not make a public announcement -

has to let his convenient little moles make little leaking noises (remember how we just hate leaks)

:puke: