The United States on Monday added a large amount of Japanese steel products to its list of exclusions from emergency tariffs on steel imports, raising the possibility of Japan refraining from taking retaliatory action.
The Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said another 37 foreign steel products have been excluded from the tariffs Washington imposed in March to help the ailing U.S. steel industry.
Trade sources said the 37 products include four Japanese products, such as slabs and hot-rolled sheets, which total 250,000 tons on an annual import basis.
The action brings the total amount of Japanese products receiving exclusions to 500,000 tons, equivalent to nearly 40 percent of the steel imports from Japan that were subject to the three-year tariffs of up to 30 percent.