Analysis by Energy Workforce President Tim Tarpley
On Tuesday of this week, the Department of Commerce closed the comment period on the 2nd round of potential additions of products to the Section 232 list for products containing steel and aluminum. This new list includes 95 products that, if accepted, will now be added to the list of products tariffed at a 50% rate for the steel and aluminum portion. Included in this list were a number of products critical to energy production, including:
- Transformers and transformer parts
- Downstream forged steel articles
- Mud motors, including rotors and stators
- Forged and machined steel components
- Drill bits and component parts used in oil and gas operations
- Parts of non-aircraft gas turbines
- Liquid dielectric transformers
EWTC strongly opposes adding additional critical energy components to the 232 list and is urging Commerce. EWTC is concerned that increasing the tariff rate on these components would have an immediate adverse effect on domestic energy production and the reliability of our supply chains. We remain committed to working with the administration to reshore as much manufacturing to the United States as possible. This effort aims to maintain the reliability of our supply chains and ensure that domestic manufacturing of critical energy components and domestic energy production can continue without interruption and remain competitive on a worldwide scale.
EWTC will be hosting a number of conversations with members of the House and Senate on these critical issues over the next few weeks, tentative schedule can be found here: (link to schedule) please email Tim Tarpley if you or anybody on your staff would like to join these discussions.
Tim Tarpley, Energy Workforce President, analyzes federal policy for the Energy Workforce & Technology Council. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Workforce newsletter, which highlights sector-specific issues, best practices, activities and more.
