BUSH WITHDRAWS 201 PROGRAMME

摘要

The Bush administration last week repealed the USA's Section 201 tariffs, but opted to keep import safeguards' licensing and monitoring systems in place. In response European Union trade commissioner Pascal Lamy repealed the EU's own retaliatory safeguard tariffs on December 5. "The tariffs have worked and allowed the US steel industry 21 months breathing space it needed to consolidate and restructure," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters in Washington. "Productivity is up, production costs are down and US companies are now competitive. Workers have negotiated new labour conditions which helps guarantee pensions and which also relieve the high cost of pensions to employers."