Russia, U.S. Reach Accord on Steel Limits

Russia has agreed to limit its shipments of steel to the United States to avoid imposition of punitive American tariffs, U.S. officials said. The deal was signed after marathon bargaining talks in Paris. If an agreement had not been reached by Tuesday, Washington was set to impose the penalty tariffs, which would have resulted in an even steeper drop in demand for Russian steel in the United States. Russia’s Tass news agency quoted Russian Trade Minister Mikhail Fradkov as saying that the deal would preserve Russia’s access to the American steel market. Fradkov told the Russian news agency that the deal was achieved only at the last minute following a number of concessions from the American side. The U.S. steel industry and its supporters in Congress had been unhappy with the outline of a preliminary agreement the administration struck with Russia on steel back in February.