White House delays steel tariffs

President Trump delayed the implementation of steel and aluminum tariffs until June 1 for European Union, Canada and Mexico imports as the White House prepares for tense trade talks in China this week.

The Trump administration said it had reached an agreement with South Korea on steel imports following discussions on a revised trade agreement, the outlines of which were previously announced by US and South Korean officials.

The administration said it had also reached agreements in principle with Argentina, Australia and Brazil on steel and aluminum that will be finalized in the short-term future.

Announcing the trade actions, the White House said “in all of these negotiations, the administration is focused on quotas that will restrain imports and protect the national security” — two goals that were stressed by the administration in its March announcement.

Facing a self-imposed deadline, President Trump was considering whether to permanently exempt the EU and Mexico, Canada, Aus- tralia, Argentina and Brazil from tariffs that his administration imposed last month on imported steel and aluminum. The White House provided temporary exemptions in March and had until the end of Monday to decide whether to extend them.

The EU has said if it loses its exemption it will retaliate with its own tariffs on US goods imported to Europe.