Ensuring a Level Playing Field: Tariff Evasion in the Global Steel Market

State-driven economic, trade, and investment practices have distorted the global market for steel and other strategic goods that are crucial for economic growth and competitiveness. To ensure a level playing field for domestic industries, the U.S. imposes import tariffs in response to market distortion practices, including dumping (or selling at below market prices) and unfair government subsidization. Despite efforts to provide trade relief to domestic industries, foreign producers and exporters continue to undermine trade remedy measures by developing new tariff evasion strategies, such as sending products to foreign or “third countries” to undergo minor processing and change the true country of origin to avoid paying import tariffs.  The Capstone team will work to address this trade imbalance and provide targeted research and recommendations.