I've been reading some of the stories on how the "gubmint" is choosing to grant "exemptions" and/or are choosing which products will have tariffs applied (which is a "gubmint" imposed "tax" on American businesses and consumers for buying the products they desire to use). And, I came across this piece on welded rail for the UP.

Welded Rail Tariff

So, other than the much higher costs from much more frequent rail replacement, using inferior and more costly so-called "domestic" producer (there are exactly zero US domestic producers manufacturing this quality of rail), how has this impacted the UP facility in Stockton?

Over 28,000 exemptions from the steel and aluminum have been requested in the last 4 months from thousands of American companies who will pay higher prices for this new Federal "tax" on the inputs and raw materials that they buy and use to create products and service in America. And many. like UP, have no so-called "domestic" product even available, or willing to make or sell the product they are buying.

Commerce has apparently budgeted no personnel (zero) and has created no logical nor legally defensible (zero) process to evaluate and approve or disapprove these requested exemptions, within the 90 day deadline to respond.

The Commerce Department has refused to provide any explanation on why that product has been approved or disapproved for an exemption.

So it is becoming very likely we will see this issue in Federal Court soon. Since the way the tariffs have been imposed by the Commerce Department, as a completely "arbitrary and capricious" process to "decide" to impose or issue an exemption from the tariff, without providing any specific reasoning or legal basis. And, that probably violates the "due process" to which those steel and aluminum consumers are legally entitled to under form of limited constitutional government, where we are still entitled to "due process" before the "gubmint" can legally steal and pocket our company profits.