Mar 8, 2018 IPAA Raises Concerns Over White House Steel and Aluminum Tariff
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representing the independent producers that develop 90 percent of America’s oil and natural gas wells, Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) President and CEO Barry Russell raised concerns today over proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum goods in a letter to The White House.
“American oil and natural gas extraction hinges on the availability of steel – particularly the steel needed for well construction, for surface management and for pipelines to gather and move its production,” Russell writes in the letter. “The Independent Petroleum Association of America believes that Line Pipe and [Oil Country Tubular Goods] OCTG should not fall under the tariff provisions being considered. IPAA requests the Administration to continue using Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duty Orders to address those specific issues where there are demonstrated abuses of the line pipe and OCTG markets.”
Steel is an essential component of U.S. oil and natural gas projects, such as drilling, pipelines, and export terminals. Particularly for well construction, surface management, and new pipelines to gather and safely move our product, a significant portion of the steel used is specialty products that get imported because most U.S. steelmakers do not supply them. Implementing this inconsistent trade policy could create unnecessary costs, confusion in supply chains, negative impacts to capital-intensive projects, and threaten high-paying American jobs.
IPAA has also joined with other steel-dependent trade groups in a coalition opposing the tariffs, called the Alliance for Competitive Steel and Aluminum Trade (led by the National Foreign Trade Council). In its policy position, the Alliance notes: “The proposed tariffs of 25% on all steel imports and 10% on all aluminum imports are far broader than required to address any legitimate defense or security needs, and will cause severe harm to many of our most competitive industries by raising production costs and prices throughout our economy. The downstream industries that consume steel and aluminum are 40 to 50 times greater than these two sectors in terms of output and employment. Job losses and reduced competitiveness in downstream sectors will far outweigh any short-term benefits to steel and aluminum.”
About the Independent Petroleum Association of America
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) is a national upstream trade association representing thousands of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies across the United States. Independent producers develop 90 percent of the nation’s oil and natural gas wells. These companies account for 54 percent of America’s oil production, 85 percent of its natural gas production, and support over 2.1 million American jobs. Learn more about IPAA by visiting www.ipaa.org and following @IPAAaccess on Twitter.
