The CEO of Plains All American Pipeline, the firm with huge pipeline and storage operations in Oklahoma warns steel tariffs proposed by President Trump will hurt the pipeline construction industry in the U.S.
Greg Armstrong told those attending CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference in Houston that certain sizes of steel pipe and valves were only available outside the U.S. That meant they have to be shipped into the U.S. and subject to the proposed tariffs.
“We need some flexibility to be able to move forward. That will be part of the dialogue,” with the administration, he said. “We got about $1.5. billion of projects underway that use quite a bit of steel.”
But President Trump isn’t budging, stating Monday he’s “not backing down” on his plan to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
“No we’re not backing down,” said the President in the Oval Office. “We’ve had a very bad deal with Mexico. We’ve had a very bad deal with Canada—it’s called NAFTA.”
The tariffs will go into effect in the next two weeks.
But they are opposed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who called the plan “absolutely unacceptable.”
The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker has said the European Union could respond by taxing American goods such as Bourbon, blue jeans and even Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Despite the possibility of increased oil pipeline construction costs, the Plains All American Pipeline leader appreciates the assistance of the Trump administration in eliminating numerous regulations.
“The number of regulations we have to comply with have stacked up over the years,” he said. “The last 12 to 14 months we’ve seen a different attitude and attitude matters a lot.”