U.S. adds 407 product categories to steel and aluminum tariffs list

In this June 28, 2018, file photo, rolls of finished steel are seen at the U.S. Steel Granite City Works facility in Granite City, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday said it is hiking steel and aluminum tariffs on more than 400 products including wind turbines, mobile cranes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment, along with railcars, furniture and hundreds of other products.

The department said 407 product categories are being added to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by sectoral tariffs, with a 50% tariff on any steel and aluminum content of these products.

The department is also adding imported parts for automotive exhaust systems and electrical steel needed for electric vehicles to the new tariffs. A group of foreign automakers had urged the department not to add the parts saying the U.S. does not have the domestic capacity to handle current demand.

The new tariffs take effect immediately and also cover compressors and pumps.

“Today’s action expands the reach of the steel and aluminum tariffs and shuts down avenues for circumvention – supporting the continued revitalization of the American steel and aluminum industries," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler.

Steelmakers including Cleveland Cliffs CLF.N and others had petitioned the administration to expand the tariffs to include additional steel and aluminum auto parts.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson, David Shepardson and Bhargav Acharya; editing by Ryan Patrick Jones and David Gregorio)