U.S. steel imports in November fell 34.1 percent from the same month a year ago, the government said on Tuesday, despite the Bush administration's repeal of tariffs on foreign steel that it imposed last year. U.S. November steel imports fell to 1.8 million tons from 2.8 million in November 2002, the U.S. Commerce Department said. In its preliminary data for November, the department also said that imports fell 3.6 percent from 1.9 million tons in October. Imports in October were revised upward from 1.7 million tons. The largest country decreases from the same 2002 period were with Brazil, Russia, Mexico and Japan. The move to repeal the tariffs, which were imposed in March 2002, angered some U.S. steel companies but warded off threats from trading partners in Asia and the European Union.þþ
Source: Chicago Tribune
