Japanese automakers appear to be working with the Japanese government and steel industry to put pressure on the White House for more exemptions from tariffs. In 2001, the U.S. imported 2.2 million metric tons of steel from Japan, of which 1.4 million tons were initially covered by the safeguard tariffs. Just under 200,000 tons of this 1.4 million have been exempted from the tariffs, but the Japanese government and steel industry are calling for further exemptions. Japanese car companies have asked Japanese steel firms to ship—tariffs or not— the high-quality steel products that cannot be manufactured by U.S. steelmakers to auto plants in the U.S. To ensure stable supply, Japanese steelmakers are shipping some of steel mill products by air, instead of by sea.