The Japanese government has threatened a 5% ‘special tax’ on leather goods and clothing imported from the US if Washington does not remove its controversial steel import safeguards by the end of this month. Imports of US steel products into Japan will themselves become subject to a 30% tariff. 

The move is in retaliation to the 8 to 30% tariffs the United States has imposed on certain kinds of imported steel to March 2005.  Next March, the EU will begin phasing in $4 billion in duties on U.S. products, from leather goods to nuclear reactors, to pressure US legislators to do away with a tax break that the WTO says violates export-subsidy rules.

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