Biden calls for higher steel tariffs on China

PITTSBURGH — President Joe Biden is calling for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum to protect American producers from a flood of cheap imports, pitching 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 American 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 United States.

“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 on Wednesday visited the United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh, greeting some workers upon his arrival. “Keep U.S. Steel in America,” they told him. “Guaranteed,” he responded.

Still, the tariff move is largely symbolic. The American Iron and Steel Institute said China last year accounted for just 2.1% of U.S. steel imports, making it America’s seventh-biggest source of foreign steel.