Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
U.S. tariffs will apply to all importers
An administration official said U.S. allies will not be exempt from new tariffs on metals imports.
WASHINGTON — The White House scrambled Friday to deal with a flood of questions and criticisms from around the globe after President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement a day earlier that he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum from China and other countries.
In a hastily called briefing for reporters, one senior administration official said the new tariffs would apply to those metals imported from all nations, clarifying whether Trump might exempt certain allies, like Canada.
But the official left open the door to changes as he described the double-digit duties as a “preliminary decision” and said the president’s tariff proclamation “in principle” would be finalized next week after a legal scrubbing.
The official provided no other details of the measure, which Trump indicated he would sign sometime next week. Trump also told steel executives called to the White House on Thursday that the tariffs would last “a long while.”
Trump’s announcement surprised some of his own top officials, who on Friday appeared to be continuing an internecine battle in the White House over Trump’s protectionist leanings.
Officials also sought to contain fallout from Trump’s roll-out of the tariff news, which shocked U.S. lawmakers and business groups, and elicited a sharp response from Canada, the biggest exporter of steel to the U.S..
European Union officials said they would target U.S. products like bourbon and Harley Davidson motorbikes for tariffs if Trump carried out his plan to levy tariffs on the metals.
European firm Swedishbased Electrolux also said it is putting on hold its $250 million commitment to invest in a Tennessee plant because of concerns about the impact of potential tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
Major stock indexes in Europe and Asia sank Friday on fears of a trade war. Stocks in the U.S. ended moderately down Friday after plunging the previous day after Trump’s announcement.
Trump on Friday morning brushed off concerns about the downside risks of his planned tariffs, tweeting that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.”
Trump’s authority to impose the tariffs is based on a U.S. law that grants the president wide discretion to apply trade sanctions on the grounds of national security. In a series of tweets, Trump reiterated the need to “protect our country and our workers,” and seemed to single out China without naming it: When “a certain country” gets “cute,” he wrote, “don’t trade anymore—we win big. It’s easy!”
But China was only the 11th-largest exporter of steel to the United States last year. About 40 percent of American steel imports come from countries in which the U.S. has collective defense alliances such as Canada, Germany and South Korea, said Andy Rothman, an investment strategist at Matthews Asia in San Francisco.
Many Republicans also oppose Trump’s trade stance. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, said in a statement, “Trade wars are never won. Trade wars are lost by both sides.”