Ways and Means Chairman Says He's Open to Removing Section 232 Tariffs on Ukrainian Steel

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., would also be open to lowering or lifting tariffs on at least some Ukrainian goods, he said during a hallway interview at the Capitol on April 28. Neal said he had just left a meeting with the president of Georgia, and she had told him the U.S. support for Ukraine needed to last. The U.K. has lifted tariffs on all Ukrainian imports, and the EU's parliament is considering doing the same.

The top Republican on the panel, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, previously said that it was a terrific idea (see 2204270059), and the Senate Finance Committee is also considering lowering tariffs on Ukrainian exports. In 2020, Ukraine exported $1.1 billion in goods to the U.S., and pig iron was nearly half of the value. There is no tariff on pig iron. Ukraine and Russia were the top two suppliers of imported pig iron before the war. Sunflower oil accounted for about $54 million of Ukraine's exports to the U.S., and it does face a 1.7¢/kg + 3.4% tariff.

The only idea that's been openly discussed so far is removing Section 232 tariffs on Ukrainian steel, something the president could do without congressional action (see 2204060060). Ukraine had been exporting about $25 million in steel products. Neal said he would want to hear what the administration thinks about that, "so we can do it in concert with the president and the Senate, but I would be very open to those sorts of interpretations."