Ross faces skeptical senators, defends product exclusion process

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday said his agency was turning a corner in assessing requests for product exclusions from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and defended the administration against accusations from Senate Finance Committee members that the process has been burdensome and ineffective. “We are eating through the backlog,” Ross said during a June 20 hearing on the current and proposed tariff actions administered by the Commerce Department. Industry groups and lawmakers have repeatedly called on Commerce...