President Joe Biden is calling for tripling tariffs steel from China to protect American producers from cheap imports, an announcement planned for Wednesday in a speech to steelworkers in Pennsylvania, a crucial state for the November election.
The measure reflects the intersection between Biden’s international trade policy and his efforts to attract voters in a state that is emerging as essential in the elections.
The White House insists, however, that it is more about protecting the domestic manufacturing sector from unequal competitive practices than about haranguing union voters.
In addition to raising steel tariffs, Biden also wants to triple levies on Chinese aluminum. The tariff on both metals today is 7.5%. The administration is also promising to pursue antidumping investigations against countries and importers that try to saturate existing markets with Chinese steel, and announced that it is working with Mexico to ensure that Chinese companies do not avoid tariffs by shipping steel there and then exporting it to the United States.
“The president understands that we must invest in national manufacturing. But we also have to protect those investments and those workers from the unfair exports associated with Chinese industrial overcapacity.”White House economic adviser Lael Brainard said in a call with reporters.
Biden will announce that he will ask the US trade representative to consider tripling tariffs, during a visit to the headquarters of the United Steelworkers steel union in Pittsburgh. The president is on a three-day tour of Pennsylvania that began Tuesday in Scranton and will include a stop in Philadelphia on Thursday.
The United States maintains that China is distorting markets and harming competition by flooding the market with cheap steel.
“China’s policy of industrial overcapacity poses a serious risk to the future of China’s steel and aluminum industries. USA”Brainard said. Alluding to the deterioration of the Chinese economy, he added that Beijing “You will not be able to recover from this through exports.”
It may interest you
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
