DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND USTR ANNOUNCES
SECOND SET OF PRODUCTS TO BE EXCLUDED FROM
SAFEGUARD ON STEEL PRODUCTS

Today the Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the release of the second set of products to be excluded from the import restrictions imposed under the safeguard on steel products.

In accordance with World Trade Organization rules designed to allow for the temporary restructuring of a domestic industry, the President announced temporary steel safeguard measures on March 5, 2002. The President directed the Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative to continue to consider pending requests to exclude certain products from the safeguard action.

These 46 products were excluded because it was determined that they are not sufficiently available from U.S. producers and that excluding these products would not undermine the effectiveness of the safeguard on steel products. The decision to exclude these products was based upon a full consideration of information submitted by U.S. steel consumers, U.S. steel producers and foreign steel producers. This is part of the Administration’s objective of providing relief only where needed in the steel industry and to avoid burdening U.S. steel consumers.

Additional sets of products to be excluded will be announced on a rolling basis. The President’s March 5 announcement set a July 3, 2002 deadline for completing this process. A list and a short description of the excluded products may be found on USTR’s website: www.ustr.gov. A complete description of the excluded products will be published in the Federal Register.