Limiting or taxing steel imports could also hit Canada, Brazil, South Korea and Russia — and the implications could ripple throughout the entire World Trade Organization.
If President Trump decides to impose steep tariffs on steel, it would be a direct shot at Beijing.
But the list of countries that would be affected doesn’t end with China. Limiting or taxing steel imports could also hit Canada, Brazil, South Korea, and Russia — and the implications could ripple throughout the entire trading system.
On Trump’s desk are a broad range of trade options meant to bolster the domestic steel industry. The recommendations sent from the Commerce Department include across-the-board tariffs, targeting select nations with even higher tariffs and capping how much steel comes into the country.
The president has until April to choose any one of these options, a combination of them or entirely different trade actions. He has a similar set of recommendations on aluminum.
In the past, the president’s rhetoric on steel has focused on China. Since starting his run for office, Trump has laid into China for sending excess cheap steel into the global market, which he says makes it impossible for American steel companies to compete.
„China is dumping steel all over the United States, okay? It’s killing you,“ Trump said at a campaign rally in Pittsburgh in April 2016. „Maybe we get a little lower price, but we lose all the jobs.“
It’s true that China, the world’s top exporter of steel, is a major source of a global supply glut that has driven down prices. American and European steelmakers have made complaints echoing Trump’s criticism for years.
However, China is not the top country from which the United States imports steel. In fact, it’s not even in the top 10.
Due to the trade penalties the United States has slapped on Chinese steel during past administrations, China sends much less steel to the U.
