Trump Considering Quotas, Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Imports
President Donald Trump told 15 congressional Republicans and four Democrats visiting the White House Feb. 13 that he's considering quotas or tariffs to protect domestic steel and aluminum. Producers have been decimated by dumping from China and other countries, he said. He said he'd discussed "in great detail" on the campaign trail how U.S. steel and aluminum industries have been taken advantage of by other countries.
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Since the Commerce Department made its reports in January on whether the industries deserve protection under Section 232 (see 1801120023 and 1801230055) for national security reasons, Trump must decide in early April what action to take on steel, and by April 20 on aluminum. "I will make a decision that reflects the best interests of the United States, including the need to address overproduction in China and other countries," he said.
While Democratic senators from Ohio and Pennsylvania urged Trump to protect domestic steel producers, Republicans cautioned that more jobs would be lost in the automobile and other steel-consuming sectors than would be gained. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said 30 percent steel tariffs during the George W. Bush administration backfired and led to job losses. "Lamar, it didn't work for Bush," Trump replied. "But nothing worked for Bush." Trump brushed off Republican arguments that he cannot defend tariffs on national security defense grounds since just 3 percent of steel is used for defense. That number will go way up with more military spending, he said. He said if importers have to pay substantial tariffs, "the United States would actually make a lot of money." But he did eventually acknowledge that raising tariffs on imported metal "is very much a double-edged sword."
The president repeated his frustration that the United States allows imports with low or no tariffs from countries that charge high tariffs on the same products. He said matching our tariff levels to others' levels would be a reciprocal tax, and would be fair trade. "We're like the stupid people," he said, because of the tariff discrepancies. U.S. tariff levels are bound at maximum rates set by World Trade Organization agreements.