White House advisers are urging Bush to abandon the steep tariffs he imposed last year on imported steel. Doing so would avert billions in retaliatory duties from other countries.

But the steel industry argues that without Bush's tariffs, low-priced foreign steel will again flood the American market and potentially lead to the elimination of thousands of steel jobs.

Aides said they expected the president to steer clear of the subject in his Pittsburgh visit Tuesday, a trip devoted solely to fund raising.

US Steel Corp. Chairman and CEO Thomas J. Usher is helping to host the event. He said Monday he remained hopeful that the tariffs would remain in place.

"To remove these and to buckle under to the Europeans would be a mistake not only for steel but for manufacturing in general," Usher said. "In my opinion, the president has done an awful lot of right things, and my expectation is that he will see the right of this."

In recent weeks, Bush has been silent on the topic of steel tariffs, even when it dominates the headlines and when his message of the day intersects with steel.

Last month, Bush visited a BMW manufacturing plant in South Carolina to tout his economic proposals. The plant is a leading steel buyer, and the visit was on the day when the World Trade Organization declared the administration had illegally hindered trade with tariffs on imported steel.

The president made no mention of the steel debate that day, instead reiterating his general support for "free and fair trade."

Tuesday's fund-raiser was the focus for Bush as he tended to his re-election on multiple fronts, as well as signing a bill promoting adoption.

It was his 23rd visit to Penns-ylvania, a vote-rich state he lost in 2000 and the one he has visited most since the election.

After returning, Bush planned a photo session with NASCAR (news - web sites) drivers an event that Bush inaugurated exactly a year ago. It was one sure to resonate with coveted voter blocs, the "NASCAR dads."

They are white, working-class men who admire Bush but often can be persuaded to vote Democratic, depending on the issue. NASCAR is particularly popular in the South and Midwest, two regions that generally favored the president in his 2000 election and that he must protect for his re-election.

To further highlight its embrace of NASCAR, the White House was making a top driver, Matt Kenseth, the star of an Internet forum usually reserved for administration officials. The "Ask the White House" feature on the White House Web site previously allowed anyone with an Internet connection to question people like the White House chief of staff and Cabinet officials.