Administration pushes tariffs on steel, aluminum

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is recommending an array of stiff tariffs and other tough trade actions on imports of steel and aluminum from China and other nations, saying the influx of foreign metals has compromised national security.

In a call with reporters Friday, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross laid out a variety of recommendations for President Trump to choose from, including a 24 percent tariff on all steel imports.

The scope and severity of any trade action will ultimately be determined by Trump, who has broad authority to decide whether to impose tariffs or quotas, and what countries should face them. Those measures, which could be announced in the following weeks, are aimed at saving U.S. steel and aluminum producers, who have struggled to compete with a flood of cheap metals from abroad, particularly from China.

The Commerce Department, in a report published Friday, proposed a 53 percent tariff on steel products from 12 countries, including China, Brazil, India, South Korea and Vietnam. All other countries would be subject to a quota equal to the amount of their exports to the United States in 2017. He proposed a final alternative that involved no tariffs, but a quota on all steel products from all countries equal to 63 percent of their exports to the United States in 2017.

For aluminum, the secretary presented a similar array of three options. The first was a 7.7 percent tariff on all countries and all products. The second was a 23.6 percent tariff on China, Hong Kong, Russia, Venezuela and Vietnam, with all other countries subject to a quota equal to the amount they exported the United States in 2017. The third alternative was a quota on all imports from all countries of up to 86.7 percent of their 2017 exports to the United States.

Any action to limit imports is likely to end up raising the price of steel, which could destabilize U.S. industries from automakers to food packagers. Tough trade measures could also sow discord and provoke retaliation among U.S. allies.

There would be a 90day appeal period allowing U.S. companies to request exceptions, Ross said.

The statement came in a highly anticipated report from the Commerce Department, the result of twin investigations initiated in April to determine whether steel and aluminum imports were threatening national security.

The president has not announced what he will do as a result of the investigation. But in remarks to lawmakers Tuesday, he said that the United States is considering tariffs, quotas or both. “You may have a higher price, but you have jobs,” Trump told the bipartisan group.

The Trump administration has argued that steel and aluminum imports are compromising national security by threatening the viability of U.S. manufacturers who make planes, armored vehicles and other products for the military. It chose to initiate the investigation into steel and aluminum imports under a little used provision of trade law that relates specifically to national security concerns, and gives the president broad leeway to act.