From 407 to 1100: US Steel Tariff List Sees Massive Expansion

The US list of products facing “steel derivative” tariffs is on the verge of a massive expansion, growing from 407 items to potentially over 1,100. American companies have submitted requests for approximately 700 new products to be added, ranging from bicycles to industrial machinery.
This is the second consultation in just three months, and it was driven by the overwhelming success of the first. In August, 407 products were added with a near-100% approval rate, encouraging more firms to apply before the October 21 deadline. A decision on the new items is expected by January.
The requests come from US firms who feel they are at a competitive disadvantage. Companies making baking pans, for example, complain that China is “flooding the market” with low-cost goods. Others, like tomato-canner Red Gold, point out they pay high tariffs on raw steel, while importers of finished cans do not.
This “expansionist” policy is causing alarm bells to ring in Europe. Manufacturers in the UK and EU fear a “rolling and growing” list of tariffs. They are concerned these new levies will be stacked on top of their existing trade deal rates (10% for UK, 25% for EU), “making a mockery” of those agreements.
Analysts see this as a sign of growing trade instability. The US’s “liberal” approach to approvals is creating deep uncertainty for its global partners, who now face another round of costly import taxes.