Sources: Australia averted 232 restrictions in exchange for monitoring

The Trump administration's decision to exempt Australia from Section 232 quotas and tariffs on steel and aluminum hinges on constant U.S. monitoring of imports, Inside U.S. Trade has learned -- an arrangement some sources described as akin to a voluntary export restraint for Australia. U.S. Customs and Border Protection tracks aluminum and steel imports from Australia on a weekly basis, sources familiar with the deal told Inside U.S. Trade, with one source calling the deal an "anti-surge regime." After the...