S.-EU Steel Dispute," Dec. 4, 2003). The exports potentially being affected ranged from Harley Davidson motorcycles to citrus fruit ("EU slaps $200m tariff on U.S. imports," Nov. 5, 2003).
The basis upon which the EU selected goods to impose duties on was the political damage they would cause Bush during his 2004 re-election bid. The majority of affected goods were produced in states that were vital to Bush's success in the election. They included the southern U.S. where items such as citrus fruits, clothing, shoes, tobacco, rice, yachts, paper, and cardboard were produced. They also included many states in the Midwest, where watches, spectacles, hand tools, and steel products were produced (Q&a: U.S.-EU Steel Dispute," Dec. 4, 2003).
The Bush administration finally repealed the steel tariffs for various reasons, the first one being the threat of being struck with retaliatory tariffs from other nations. The second reason was that Bush would have garnered a bad reputation internationally if he were to blatantly disregard WTO...
The third reason was that several domestic steel-consuming industries, such as automobile manufacturers, complained that they were becoming less competitive in the world market due to the high price of steel. Not surprisingly the steelworkers union like the AFL-CIO called the decision to repeal "a blow to working families and the steel industry" (Sweeney, Dec. 4, 2003). It was expected for Bush to fare badly his re-election bid from groups such as this within the steel industry.
References
EU slaps $200m tariff on U.S. imports" (November 5, 2003). Retrieved April 7, 2007 from BBC Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3243423.stm
Q&a: U.S.-EU steel dispute" (December 4, 2003). Retrieved April 7, 2007 from BBC Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3291675.stm
Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on President Bush's decision to lift steel tariffs" (December 4, 2003). Retrieved April 7, 2007 from AFL-CIO Website: http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr12042003.cfm
