The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unveiled their replacement to the Obama-era 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule.

The proposed new rule appears to provide a much more reasonable approach to the limits of Clean Water Act jurisdiction for waters of the U.S.  However, AFS said the details of the new rule require careful review to determine how it will impact metalcasting operations. 

During the G-20 talks this weekend in Argentina, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to halt new tariffs and not increase tariffs already in place.

The U.S. had been scheduled to increase tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% on Jan. 1. The agreement keeps those tariffs on thousands of products, including hundreds of types of Chinese castings at 10% for at least the next 90 days while the countries negotiate further.

OSHA’s crystalline silica rule did not clearly state which types of industrial sweepers are permitted under its new standard. For the past several months, AFS and its attorney have been engaged in conversations with OSHA staff and their attorneys in order to clarify the types of sweepers that are acceptable under the rule.

The U.S. Department of Commerce formally announced its procedures for companies seeking exemptions from the Trump administration’s recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum product imports. The department will start accepting exclusion requests on Monday, March 19, 2018 from U.S. businesses that use the metal in manufacturing cars, trucks, construction, food packaging, beverage packaging, or other commercial activities.