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The Trump administration levied tariffs on $1.96 billion of imported aluminum sheet from 18 countries on Friday, saying that foreign producers were selling their products at unfairly low prices and undercutting American manufacturers.
In an interview on Fox Business Network on Friday morning, Wilbur Ross, the secretary of commerce, called the move “the largest and most far-reaching case that our department has brought in more than 20 years.” He said Germany would feel the largest impact, followed by Bahrain.
Mr. Ross traced part of the problem back to China. He said China was dumping its excess capacity into other markets, which would then find its way into the United States. “The net effect is a lot of dumping in the U.S., and that’s what we’re clamping down on,” he said.
The United States, which imported $15.9 billion of aluminum in 2019, has already imposed a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum from many countries, though Canada, Mexico and others have earned certain exemptions. Some American aluminum makers support the tariffs, but the levies have angered many manufacturers that make cars, boats, recreational vehicles, washing machines and other products, and now have to pay higher prices for their raw materials.
The U.S. government typically brings dozens of trade cases against foreign countries every year for unfairly subsidizing and pricing their products. But the Trump administration has been particularly aggressive in pursuing and welcoming such cases from various industries, and has initiated 286 of them so far during its term.
The tariffs, which went into effect immediately, apply to products from Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey. The tariff rates vary by country and range up to 353 percent of the cost of the good.
Several U.S. aluminum manufacturers requested the tariffs, including Arconic, Novelis Corporation, Texarkana Aluminum and Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood.
The Commerce Department will begin collecting the levies immediately, but they could still be struck down and retroactively reimbursed. The U.S. International Trade Commission will make its final decision on the case on April 5, 2021, the Commerce Department said.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/09/business/us-economy-coronavirus