Missouri nail manufacturer granted steel tariff exclusions

(AP) The U.S. Department of Commerce has granted tariff exclusions to a Missouri nail manufacturer.

Mid-Continent Steel and Wire on Thursday praised the decision, which will exempt the company from paying 25 percent tariffs on most of the imported steel it uses.

The company says its manufacturing workforce dropped from more than 500 to fewer than 300 after the tariffs by President Donald Trump’s administration took effect last year. Mid-Continent Steel and Wire applied for the exemptions June 18.

Operations General Manager Chris Pratt said in a statement that the company now can start ramping up production levels at the Poplar Bluff plant in southeast Missouri.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt in a statement said the company now has a chance to bring jobs back to the area.