USA: Biden calls for higher tariffs on Chinese steel, aluminium

The US president, Joe Biden, called on his administration to consider tripling the existing 7.5% tariff rates on Chinese steel and aluminium products during a campaign event at the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 17 April.

Chinese steelmakers are dumping extra steel products into the global market at unfairly low prices, and being heavily subsidised by the government allowed them to operate without concern for profitability, Biden stated.

He also mentioned working together with Mexico to prevent Chinese steel and aluminium suppliers from avoiding the tariff by selling the metals indirectly to the United States through Mexican territory, as per the statement.

Also on Wednesday, the Biden administration initiated an investigation into Chinese trade practices across the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors, which could result in additional tariffs.

In a quick response to the investigation, China's commerce ministry on the same day expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the United States' launch of a Section 301 investigation into its maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

China exported approximately 845,000 tonnes (t) of steel to the United States in 2023, accounting for just 0.94% of China's total steel exports in the past year, while its aluminium exports to the United States totalled 690,890 t, representing 8.1% of its total aluminium exports last year, according to the data of General Administration of Customs of China.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.