President imposes sweeping tariffs
Trump: Action ends ‘assault’ on aluminum, steel
WASHINGTON — Brushing aside stern warnings from ally nations, U.S. companies and lawmakers in his own party, President Donald Trump imposed substantial tariffs Thursday on steel and aluminum imports from across the globe.
His order — which included an indefinite but conditional exemption for Canada and Mexico — marked the first time in more than three decades that a U.S. president has invoked national security as the basis for ordering such trade restrictions.
The protectionist move is almost certain to be contested at the World Trade Organization and met with retaliatory measures from other nations.
And the seemingly impromptu rollout, lack of details and uncertain process ahead could mean that the tariff plan — like so many other Trump programs — finds itself tied up in legal challenges or congressional roadblocks. The new tariffs — 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum — will take effect in 15 days.
“The American aluminum and steel industry has been ravaged by aggressive foreign trade practices. It’s really an assault on our country. It’s been an assault,” Trump said during a White House ceremony before signing the orders. He was accompanied by steel and aluminum workers wearing factory uniforms and holding white hard hats.
The final order retreated sharply from the blanket tariffs Trump spoke of just a week ago. He exempted — at least temporarily — Canada President Donald Trump hands out pens to workers after signing executive orders on steel and aluminum tariffs. and Mexico from the tariffs, and opened the door for virtually every other country to also avoid them — provided they offer a “satisfactory alternative,” according to the decree.
“We’re going to be very flexible,” Trump emphasized. Trump suggested, for example, that there could be a carve-out for Australia. “We have a very close relationship with Australia, we have a trade surplus with Australia. “We’ll be doing something with them. We’ll be doing something with some other countries,” he said.
“We’re going to see who’s treating us fairly, who’s not treating us fairly,” Trump said. He then invited trading partners who want to avert the new tariffs to make their case to his chief trade official, Robert Lighthizer.
Trump suggested that Canada and Mexico could make their exemption permanent by agreeing to U.S. demands in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. So far the two trading partners in the 24-year-old pact have flatly rejected Trump’s effort to link the two issues. “The negotiation process for the modernization of NAFTA will follow its course independently of this or any domestic policy measure taken by the United States government,” Mexico’s Finance Ministry said Thursday in a statement.
Reaction in Maryland, where manufacturers rely heavily on steel imports according to a recent study, was largely negative. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce predicted that the decision would have “terrible effects on Maryland’s economy” and said it would “set back” manufacturing, construction and other industries.
Steel and aluminum make up 5.5 percent of Maryland’s imports and, by that measure, the state is ranked fourth in the nation for its use of those products, according to a study from the Brookings Institution this week. Only Missouri, Louisiana and Connecticut had a higher share.
Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have tried to persuade the White House against the decision for weeks, and many offered muted criticism Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he and other senators were “concerned about the scope of the proposed tariffs” and House Speaker Paul Ryan said he disagrees with the decision and “fear[s] its unintended consequences.”
Democrats, including several members of Maryland’s mostly Democratic congressional delegation, have also opposed it. “No one can doubt that China has created massive overcapacity in steel and aluminum production that distorts world markets and depresses steel and aluminum prices,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Southern Maryland Democrat, said Thursday. “But our trade actions need to be carefully designed to hit their targets and avoid collateral damage to other U.S. industries or to our allies.”
Administration officials said other factors that would be considered for exemption from the tariffs could include reducing a bilateral trade deficit with the U.S. or coughing up more money for joint international security expenses.
But in exempting Canada and Mexico — leaving wiggle room for other countries to get waivers — Trump has undercut his own claim that the duties are necessary to protect national security, said James Bacchus, a former House lawmaker and ex-chairman of the appellate body of the World Trade Organization. “This is looking less and less like a national security measure and more and more like economic pressure,” Bacchus said.