Biden intends to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum

US President Joe Biden intends to increase customs duties on Chinese steel and aluminum three times, denouncing “the unfair” competition that harms American workers, in a new signal directed at a group of voters whose support he needs amid his electoral campaign to win a new term.

On Wednesday, the White House blamed “China’s policies and its support for the steel and aluminum industries,” according to a statement.

With the presidential elections approaching in November, Biden called on the US Trade Representative to “consider increasing the tariffs” imposed on a portion of Chinese steel and aluminum imports, which currently amount to an average of 7.5%”.

On Wednesday, Biden will visit Pittsburgh, a city with an industrial past in Pennsylvania, on the second day of a tour of the state that will play an essential role in the presidential elections.

The Democratic president is seeking to convince voters that he is the best ally of workers and unions, and in this context, he will visit the headquarters of the Mining Industries Workers Union, after he recently received their support after confronting the Japanese company “Nippon Steel’s” acquisition of the giant US steel group, US Steel.

When announcing its support for Biden, the union criticized his Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, who is also seeking to win the votes of the working class and presents himself as a defender of reviving the American manufacturing industry, promising to increase customs duties by a large percentage if he is elected.

Also, the Biden administration announced on Wednesday the opening of an investigation into “China’s unfair practices in the areas of shipbuilding, maritime transport, and logistical activities”.

The Office of the US Trade Representative will undertake the investigation, which comes in response to a request from a number of union bodies in this sector that denounce Chinese policies that are “more aggressive and intrusive than any other country”.

The White House emphasized that “steel is an essential component of our national shipbuilding industry”.

The White House announcements come against the backdrop of a sharp rivalry with China, despite the resumption of dialogue between the world’s two leading economic powers, and the measures taken to reduce the United States’ dependence on Chinese industries.

The White House added that “steel made in the United States remains essential to our economic and internal security,” stressing the need to provide “more sustainable steel to American companies”.

However, “high-quality American products currently find themselves competing with alternatives that are artificially reduced in price and produced with higher carbon emissions”.

The Biden administration pointed to “growing concerns that China’s unfair trade practices, especially dumping steel sold at below market prices, are corrupting the global shipbuilding market and undermining competition”.

Concerns about the surplus production capacity of the Chinese steel industry have increased with the significant slowdown in China’s construction sector, which has allowed products to be allocated for export.

In light of the slowdown in the real estate sector, which was stimulating economic growth, China allocated extensive aid to some industries despite the decline in international demand for them.

The European Union is engaged in a test of strength with Beijing, accusing it of undermining its markets with low-priced products that are not limited to metals.

Also, the steel industry in Latin America is expressing concerns and demanding the imposition of import duties.

A week after a visit to Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met Tuesday in Washington with her Chinese counterpart within the framework of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and discussed with him again the issue of the surplus in Chinese production.

The Biden administration announces that it has doubled investments in new factories in the United States since it took power in January 2021, also confirming the creation of about 80,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector.

It worth mentioning that these recent developments came shortly after, the United States and Britain decided to impose a ban on the import of three metals from Russia, namely aluminum, copper, and nickel, in a move that Russia described as “unjustified and politicized”.

The US Treasury Department explained in a statement that it is prohibited to import these minerals from Russia to the United States, except as determined by law or licensing.

For its part, the British government prevented its citizens from purchasing a security on the International Metals Exchange for Russian metals produced after April 12.

Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, confirmed that this step could easily lead to imbalances in the performance of global markets, considering that this decision is not just a bullet in the leg but rather random shooting, and that the US administration seeks to deter Russia and obstruct its successes in Ukraine.