Reagan directs USTR to negotiate steel import quotas with 15 countries

President Reagan announced on September 18, 1984, that the United States would seek voluntary restraint agreements limiting finished steel imports to 18.5% of the domestic market for five years. U.S. Trade Representative William Brock was directed to negotiate country-specific agreements with 15 steel-exporting nations covering roughly 80% of U.S. steel imports. Reagan rejected petitions from U.S. Steel and Bethlehem Steel for formal Section 201 safeguard tariffs, choosing instead to pressure trading partners through diplomatic channels. The agreements took effect in 1985 and remained in place through 1989.