Ukraine's steelmakers say U.S. tariffs will have little impact

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - According to a March 6 report by Reuters, Ukrainian steelmakers, currently ranked among the world's top steel exporters to the United States, said that the U.S. decision to impose heavy tariffs on steel imports would have little impact on its industry as it had already cut back exports to the U.S.

In what many analysts described as some of America's broadest and most sweeping federal action in two decades to protect a major industry, President George W. Bush imposed tariffs of up to 30 percent on most types of steel imported into the United States from Europe, Asia and South America.

According to The New York Times, the United States imports nearly a quarter of the steel it uses.

The tariffs, Mr. Bush said in an appearance with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt on March 6, will last three years, giving American steel producers time to consolidate operations and stem layoffs.

Speaking through Reuters, a senior official from Ukraine's Industrial Policy Ministry said the ex-Soviet state's new export policy would minimize the impact of the U.S. move to put tariffs of up to 30 percent on a range of imports to protect its ailing industry.

Ukraine, which produced 33.5 million tons of steel in 2001, had massively reduced exports to the United States in 2001, favoring Asia and Europe, he said.

"But it is not a blow [to our industry] because our steel exports to the United States were cut by two-thirds in 2001," said Oleksander Peshkov, head of the Economy Ministry's foreign markets division. Mr. Peshkov then went on to acknowledge that "After this announcement we understand that we have finally lost the U.S. steel market."

Mr. Peshkov said that in 2001 Ukraine exported 505,491 tons of steel, "worth about $114 million," to the United States, compared with about 1.5 million tons in 2000. Ukrainian officials in the United States could not be reached for comment on the matter.

The move would not affect Mexico, Canada and developing countries. However, those who would seem to take the brunt of the blow - America's European allies and Japan - said on March 6 that they would challenge President Bush's decision before the World Trade Organization.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 10, 2002, No. 10, Vol. LXX

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