As the Department of Commerce continues to grant and reject steel tariff exemption applications, we check back in with Sam Desai in South Plainfield, New Jersey, whose company makes parts for appliances. He shares his frustration with how objection comments can derail an exemption application. That frustration is also familiar to Kate Karol, counsel at […]

There’s a lot of tariff talk swirling around these days, but let’s remember what began this trade war: President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. Since those tariffs were announced in March, companies have filed more than 28,000 requests for exemptions from the Department of Commerce. As of this week, only 1,000 applications have been […]

 Todd Adams is vice president of Stainless Imports Inc., a small family-owned stainless steel manufacturer based in Florida. We had Adams on the show in early May. His company had applied for an exemption from tariffs on a specific product; the company had “combed the earth” to find a mill that could produce it and found one […]

This week, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the first official exemptions and rejections for companies that applied for exclusions from steel and aluminum tariffs. For seven lucky companies, that means they’ll get to stop paying the tariffs on specific imports — 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum. But for Sam Desai, who […]