US steel makers agree early end of tariffs

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 19, 2003

US steel makers agree early end of tariffs

US steel makers have, though reluctantly, agreed to end tariffs on steel imports earlier than scheduled, according to the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

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US steel makers have, though reluctantly, agreed to end tariffs on steel imports earlier than scheduled, according to the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

The report said that the steel makers agreed after the White House urged the companies to seek middle ground and help it avert a threatened trade war.

The report said that it was a compromised deal, which would allow the White House to end the three-year deal earlier before its expiration time of 2005. But the deal won't end until the autumn of 2004.

The deal between the White House and the US steel makers came after the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled last week that the US steel tariffs imposed in March 2002 are "illegal."

The WTO ruling has thus set the stage for the European Union to retaliate with 2.2 billion dollars in sanctions if the United States doesn't remove the tariffs immediately.

The report said the White House declined to comment on the proposal, but it quoted White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan as saying that "We have been listening to all parties - manufacturers, consumers, Congress - to hear what they have to say."

US President George W. Bush said that he is considering the issue at different occasions following the WTO ruling.

US Treasury Secretary John Snow also said in a CNBC TV interview on Monday that Bush is reviewing the steel tariffs and his final decision over the issue is awaited.

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