Biden targets steel made in China
SCRANTON, Pa. — President Joe Biden is calling for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers from a flood of cheap imports and will pitch his election-year plan during a visit Wednesday with steelworkers in Pennsylvania, where union support could prove crucial in the White House race.
The move reflects the intersection of Biden’s international trade policy with his reelection effort. The White House insists the policy is more about shielding U.S. manufacturing from unfair trade practices overseas than firing up a union audience.
The current tariff rate is 7.5% for both steel and aluminum but could climb to 22.5%.
The Biden administration also promised to pursue anti-dumping investigations against countries and importers that try to saturate existing markets with Chinese steel. It said it was working with Mexico to ensure that Chinese companies cannot circumvent the tariffs by shipping steel there for subsequent export to the U.S.
“The president understands we must invest in American manufacturing. But we also have to protect those investments and those workers from unfair exports associated with China’s industrial overcapacity,” White House national economic adviser Lael Brainard told reporters.
Biden visited the United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh, greeting a small group of workers upon his arrival.
The Democratic president is on a three-day Pennsylvania swing that began in his childhood hometown of Scranton on Tuesday and will include a visit to Philadelphia on Thursday.
In a brief exchange with reporters before leaving Scranton, Biden was asked about the escalating trade tensions with China and he responded, “No trade war.” Later, at Scranton’s war memorial, Biden crouched down and ran his fingers along the name of one of the fallen — uncle Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., who died in World War II.
The announcement on steel tariffs was cheered by U.S. steelmakers. Kevin Dempsey, president of the American Iron and Steel Institute, accused China of disrupting “world markets both by subsidizing the production of steel and other products and by dumping those products in the U.S. and other markets.”
The move is largely symbolic. In the 12 months ending in February 2023, just 3% of U.S. steel imports came from China, according to Census Bureau figures.