WDMA Criticizes Decision to Reinstate Steel and Aluminum Tariffs on Argentina and Brazil

Window + Door

The Window & Door Manufacturers Association strongly criticized President Trump’s announcement that his Administration will reinstate Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Argentina and Brazil, which had been previously excluded.

“This sudden action could result in price increases for window, door and skylight manufacturers and create further uncertainty in the residential and commercial construction markets,” says WDMA President and CEO Michael O’Brien.

Formal notices of the tariffs were not immediately announced by the Treasury or Commerce Departments or the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, CNN reports. Both Brazil and Argentina were exempted from 25 percent steel and 10 percent aluminum tariffs last year when Trump was attempting to avoid a trade war with those countries, according to the CNN article by Maegan Vazquez and Donna Borak.

“WDMA calls on the Trump Administration to abide by its 2018 agreements with both Argentina and Brazil to exclude imports from Section 232 tariffs,” O’Brien says.