FOIA documents unmask the tariff exemption process

We obtained Department of Commerce documents to see how applications were approved and denied.
The majority of requests for tariff exemptions have been denied. Above, a steel distribution factory in Monterrey, Mexico.
Photo by Julio Cesar Aguilar/AFP/Getty Images

U.S.-imposed tariffs are hitting American firms’ bottom line

Sep 27, 2018
The CEO of one of the nation’s largest automakers says metal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration earlier this year have cost his company $1 billion in profits and sales. Ford boss Jim Hackett made the comment at a gathering of business leaders in New York on Wednesday. The administration imposed the steel and aluminum […]
Jim Hackett, president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor stands outside the headquarters as they celebrate the production of the 10,000,000 Mustang on August 8, 2018 in Dearborn, Michigan.
JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images

Canada's Aluminum Valley grapples with U.S. tariffs

Sep 17, 2018
A 50-mile stretch along the Saguenay River in Quebec produces roughly half of Canada's aluminum; residents are anxious.
Rio Tinto ships raw material and finished ingots in and out of its own port facility on the bay of the Saguenay River, which flows out to the Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean.
Emma Jacobs/Marketplace

As Turkey’s currency tumbles, contagion fears rise

Aug 10, 2018
Turkey’s currency, the lira, is in free fall. It’s been declining for months and today it reached a record low, down by as much as 18 percent. Part of the reason is Turkey’s bad relations with the United States. The two countries have been at odds lately over the detention of an American pastor. And […]
Turkish Lira currency is seen on November 21, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Americans do want tariff relief

Aug 3, 2018
Manufacturers and farmers we talked to are frustrated by the import taxes and the exemption process.
A worker is surrounded by sparks from molten steel flowing into casts at the TAMCO steel mini mill in Rancho Cucamonga, California, in 2002.
David McNew/Getty Images

Alcoa earnings will give a glimpse of the aluminum industry now that tariffs are in play

Jul 17, 2018
On Wednesday, we get second-quarter earnings from Alcoa, the major aluminum manufacturer. And that may offer clues about how the escalating trade battle is playing out for domestic manufacturers and workers now that tariffs on aluminum and steel are a reality. The United States is now charging 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum from Canada, […]

As new tariffs are announced, Commerce Dept. faces crunch over exclusion applications

Jun 15, 2018
U.S. tariffs announced today will affect more than 800 products from China, everything from aircraft tires and boat motors to cranes and bulldozers. Government officials say they’ll give U.S. companies the chance to request that certain products they import from China be excluded from the tariffs. Already, thousands of companies have filed applications with the […]

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Companies say they shouldn't pay tariffs on products no one makes domestically

May 4, 2018
"I don't think people really understand that the U.S. never ... reinvested in its steel-making ability," one executive says.
A worker stacks newly cast steel slabs at the NLMK Indiana mill in March in Portage, Indiana.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Trade to figure heavily in Merkel’s meeting with Trump

Apr 26, 2018
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with President Donald Trump tomorrow, just ahead of the May 1 deadline for averting the steel and aluminum tariffs the Trump administration announced last month. What is the German leader hoping to get from her talks with the president? Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

U.S. automakers could be headed down a rocky road

Apr 25, 2018
For years, low gas prices fueled sales of SUVs and pickup trucks, and low interest rates made it easier for car buyers to trade up every time some shiny new technology came along. But with gas prices and interest rates rising, and tariffs on imported aluminum and steel driving up costs, automakers are facing an […]