U.S. Commerce Dept. Backs Tariffs on Aluminum, Steel

The U.S. Dept. of Commerce has recommended that the White House impose global duties of 24% on imported steel and 7.7% on foreign-made aluminum, Bloomberg News reports.

Last year President Donald Trump ordered a review of import prices on both materials under a section of a 55-year-old trade law relating to national security. Trump claims that domestic aluminum and steel producers are being “decimated” by foreign-produced metals dumped in the U.S. at below-market prices.

The Commerce Dept. delivered its assessment to the White House last month. Trump has until mid-April to decide what, if anything, to do. Critics warn sanctions may do little more than hike profits for local producers and would likely touch off a costly trade war with China and other major traders.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross tells reporters his department also offered alternatives to imposing tariffs on all imported aluminum and steel. The options consist of quotas, select but steeper tariffs for certain countries, or a combination of the two. Trump also has the option of negotiating deals individually.

Bloomberg notes that steel imports rose last year in anticipation that new taxes on would raise steel prices in the U.S.