Commerce secretary is pleased with tariffs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Slapping steep tariffs on imported steel last year was "absolutely the right decision" to help the beleaguered domestic steel industry back to its feet, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans said Thursday.
But Evans refused to say whether he believes the tariffs should be kept in place for the entire three-year program as originally planned.
"It absolutely was the right decision, based on the fundamental principle of fairness and a level playing field for our workers here in America," Evans said in a meeting with Associated Press reporters and editors.
But with steel consumers blaming the tariffs for contributing to thousands of manufacturing job losses nationwide, the Bush administration now is weighing whether to drop or modify the sanctions as his 2004 re-election drive begins.
Evans, who championed the tariffs when they were put in place in March 2002, would not comment on the Bush administration's decision-making process. But he said steel prices are generally "back down" to levels before the tariffs were imposed.
He said about 67 percent of the nation's imported steel is excluded from the sanctions, suggesting that manufacturers already are getting some respite from what they claim are high domestic prices spawned by the tariffs.