Bush set to scrap steel tariffs, avert trade war

WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush's administration will announce it is scrapping steel import tariffs to avert a global trade war, industry sources said.

The tariffs will be lifted to prevent massive international retaliation after being ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization, steel producers and consumers predicted.

"I will be disappointed and we regret it but that (ending the tariffs) is what we anticipate," Steel Manufacturers Association president Thomas Danjczek told AFP on Thursday.

Steel consumers said they also expected the president to lift the tariffs, a move they welcomed.

An announcement would be made "shortly," Bush told reporters in the Oval Office after a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan.

"The decision I make will be based upon my strong belief that America's consumers, the American economy is better off with a world that trades freely and a world that trades fairly," he said.

Bush ...