U.S. Exempts Some Allies From Tariffs, but May Opt for Quotas<br />By JIM TANKERSLEY and NATALIE KITROEFFMARCH 22, 2018<br />WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Thursday<br />that it would exempt some allies from stiff steel and aluminum tariffs that go into effect on Friday, but in a twist, the administration may impose import quotas to prevent too much foreign metal from flooding into the United States.<br />Imposing quotas would offer some help, Mr. Bell said, because without the limits, American companies would face incentives to start buying their steel from excluded countries<br />and domestic mills would be right back where they were pre-tariffs.<br />The tariff exemptions could help prevent retaliatory trade barriers<br />that other trading partners had threatened, including the European Union, which said it would target American exports like Florida orange juice, peanut butter and motorcycles.<br />The shift in strategy reflects a few chaotic weeks in which foreign governments lobbied, cajoled<br />and threatened Washington to win exemptions from the 25 percent tariffs on steel and the 10 percent tariffs on aluminum.<br />Many of the countries that were exempted are engaged in trade talks in which the United States is trying to win concessions, including Canada<br />and Mexico, which are in the midst of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, and South Korea, which is renegotiating its free-trade pact with the United States.
