Economic advisers urge Bush to discontinue tariffs on steel

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Key economic advisers to President Bush are urging the White House to discontinue tariffs on steel imports halfway through the three-year program, sparking an internal debate that pits global business policy against his re-election campaign.
The debate comes as the U.S. International Trade Commission prepares a Sept. 19 report for the White House on the tariffs' impact on domestic steel producers and consumers.
"I've talked directly to Commerce, to Treasury, to USTR [the U.S. trade representative] and to the White House, and I do know they are wrestling with this issue," Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, said Wednesday. "We're looking forward to reviewing it when we see it," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said of the report, declining to comment further.
Bush enacted the tariffs, from 8 percent to 30 percent on certain kinds of foreign-made steel, in March 2002 to help the battered domestic steel producing industry. The tariffs are currently set to expire March 6, 2005.
At least 35 steel producers have declared bankruptcy since 1998, eliminating 50,000 jobs.