Trump Tells Lawmakers He’s Mulling Limits on Imported Steel

WASHINGTON — President Trump suggested on Tuesday that the United States was likely to impose restrictions on imported metals, reviving the prospects for a continuing investigation whose future has been called into question amid months of pushback and delays.

Meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, the president said such restrictions would help save struggling steel companies from foreign competitors that “dump” low-priced metal on American markets. “What we’re talking about is tariffs and/or quotas,” Mr. Trump said.

The White House had billed the meeting as a listening session to let lawmakers air concerns about pending actions on aluminum and steel imports, as well as Mr. Trump’s infrastructure plan that was proposed on Monday and current trade measures like the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In April, the president began twin investigations into imports of steel and aluminum under the little used Section 232 of a 1962 trade law, which permits sweeping restrictions to protect national security. Supporters of the action say American metal makers badly need the assistance to survive and continue producing planes, armored vehicles and other products for the military.

But the measure also has plenty of critics, who fear that such restrictions amount to a protectionist grab by metal makers and will raise prices for steel and aluminum. They argue that because the metals are widely used to make other products, other industries — including automobile manufacturers and food packagers — would suffer.

Continue reading the main story
RELATED COVERAGE

Will 2018 Be the Year of Protectionism? Trump Alone Will Decide JAN. 3, 2018

Trump Promised to Protect Steel. Layoffs Are Coming Instead. DEC. 22, 2017

Trump Slaps Steep Tariffs on Foreign Washing Machines and Solar Products JAN. 22, 2018

Trump Trade Measures Set Off a Global Legal Pushback FEB. 9, 2018
That pushback, which has garnered the sympathy of many pro-trade Republicans, appears to have turned a trade action that the White House initially viewed as relatively straightforward into a more extended affair.

In speeches in May and June, Trump administration officials implied that action on steel would soon be forthcoming. But in the months that followed, little information emerged about the investigations. In September, the commerce secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr., said that a decision on the steel measure would be delayed until after Congress approved a new tax law, because the administration did not want to “unnecessarily irritate” lawmakers.

The Commerce Department formally submitted the results of its investigations into steel and aluminum imports to the White House in January. The president now faces a deadline of April 11 for a decision on the steel case, and a deadline of April 20 for a similar decision on aluminum.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers who gathered at the White House on Tuesday are generally split along party lines on the restrictions. Most Democrats voiced support for the president’s action on metals, and Republicans, with the exception of Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, urged caution.

Representative Jackie Walorski, Republican of Indiana, warned that price increases could affect the recreational vehicles made in her district. Senator Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, noted that the auto parts industry relied on inexpensive metals. And Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, said that past tariffs imposed in 2002 by President George W. Bush on steel had cost jobs for auto parts companies.

In a statement after the meeting, Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said that the Trump administration needed to hold China accountable for unfair trade practices. But he urged the president to “avoid any action” that could reverse what he described as the benefits of lower taxes and lighter regulation under the Trump administration.

“I committed to continuing to work with him to identify a narrow and targeted remedy that is balanced, effective, protects national security and economic interests across America, and addresses the root problem of China’s distortive practices,” Mr. Brady said.