The oil and gas industry told the Trump administration to clarify and improve the process for getting exemptions to planned tariffs on imported steel, multiple industry groups said in May 18 comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
"U.S. natural gas and oil companies should be granted relief from the tariffs and quotas on imported steel that will harm U.S. businesses, our economy and American consumers," Kyle Isakower, the American Petroleum Institute's vice president for regulatory and economic policy, said in a May 18 statement.
In addition to imposing a 25% tariff on global steel imports, the department's proposed policy would impose quotas on the amount of steel that could be brought into the country could limit the amount of material available for domestic energy projects, Isakower added.
Waivers will be available for "any steel article determined not to be produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality," according to the administration, but the process for this needs greater transparency and clarity, the May 18 comment letter said.
The industry groups — including the API, the American Gas Association, Association of Oil Pipe Lines, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and Independent Petroleum Association of America — laid out a number of requests for the Department of Commerce to change the exemption process when the agency finalizes the proposed tariffs.
The comment letter said the groups would like the agency to lay out the metrics it uses to determine whether domestic steelmakers have enough capacity to meet demand, to grant a categorical exclusion for steel products not available in the U.S. and to defer to companies' quality standards when assessing whether domestically available.
The oil and gas industry has said pipeline-grade steel is a relatively niche product and that there is "zero domestic availability" today for certain pipeline steel products.
The comment letter also asked that the Department of Commerce's final rule clarify that that exclusions apply retroactively to March 8 or the date of a company's purchase, whichever is earlier, to avoid affecting steel shipments that are already in the works.
The industry groups recommended that the Trump administration finalize the rule quickly to avoid prolonged uncertainty about the future of steel availability for the U.S. energy sector. "We strongly urge the Department of Commerce to finalize its rule as soon as possible to minimize disruptions to business and to American job creation, and to realize the administration's goal of achieving 'energy dominance,' which necessarily relies on complex interwoven global supply chains of specialty steel and other products," the comment letter said.
