Trump weighing options for tariffs on steel imports.
Administration recommends stiff penalties
WA SH I NG T ON • The United States has fired a warning shot in what could become a global trade war over steel and aluminum, threatening to impose a wide range of tariffs and quotas within several months on an unde t ermined number of countries.
Canada has reason to follow this closely.
It is the biggest international exporter of both steel and aluminum to the United States, so it has a significant stake in whatever President Donald Trump decides to do with a series of recommendations he received Friday.
A range of punitive options have been suggested to Trump by his administration.
One would see the U. S. impose a 24 per cent tariff on steel imports from everywhere — Canada included. Another option is a 53 per cent tariff on a smaller list of countries that does not include Canada, but does include Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
A third option is limits on imports through quotas. And, finally, a fourth option is for Trump to simply ignore Friday’s recommendation, or do something else entirely. The president must choose a course of action by April.
U. S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the recommendations Friday, after invoking a provision in U.S. trade law that allows the president to take punitive actions if it’s a matter of national security.
Ross has employed a loose definition of national security. To him, it’s not just about having enough steel to build tanks. It’s also about roads, and bridges and the economic well- being of American workers.
“National security is a very broadly encompassing topic,” Ross said.
He also spelled out the potential consequences for America’s No. 1 trading partner. In short, Canada’s situation is now in the president’s hands:
“If ( Trump) goes the targeted route, Canada would be excluded,” Ross told a conference call. “( But) the blanket-tariff alternative and the blanket- quota alternative would target all countries...
“( Trump) will decide what he’s going to do... He is not bound by these recommendations... He could do something totally different — or do nothing.”
The recommendations released Friday also include aluminum. The president is being asked to consider a 7.7 per cent tariff on all aluminum exports from all countries, or a 23.6 per cent tariff on just a few countries: China, Hong Kong, Russia, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Ross said he anticipates other countries might fight back: “It wouldn’t surprise us if there were ( retaliation).”
The government report also had some encouraging words for Canada. In several parts of the report, Canada was described as a partner and supplier to the American aluminum industry — not a threat.