U.S. tariffs on foreign steel are testing oil and gas companies’ ability to navigate the Trump administration.
The American Petroleum Institute said Friday that it was disappointed in the White House’s decision to deny an exemption request for tariffs “on imported steel used in certain parts of oil and natural gas industry operations.”
“The administration’s arbitrary process to determine these exclusions lacks transparency as it’s not clear how and why certain exclusion petitions are granted or denied,” “said API Vice President for Regulatory and Economic Policy Kyle Isakower. “What is clear, though, is that implementation of tariffs on imported steel undermines domestic energy production and the future of our nation’s energy infrastructure which is critical to bringing American energy to market.”
Last week the Trump administration rejected a request from Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US for an exclusion on the 135,000 tons of Turkish steel it imports to its facility in Baytown each year.
But others have fared better.
The statement came a day after reports that Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell were both granted exclusions from the tariff in order to buy Japanese steel used in drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Argus Media reported that the Commerce Department is working through a backlog of more than 20,000 requests for exclusion from the tariff, of which it has only processed 241.
The US Commerce Department today approved tariff exclusions for 243 metric tonnes of steel casing and production tubing that Shell said it will use when drilling wells in the US Gulf of Mexico. It also provided a tariff exclusion to Chevron for 50 metric tonnes of corrosion-resistant stainless steel tubing. The waivers will only last a year and are exclusive to the two companies.
This article first appeared on the Houston Chronicle – an Energy Voice content partner. For more from the Houston Chronicle click here.
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