The United States Announces It Will Impose Additional Tariffs On Chinese Steel And Aluminum

On May 14, 2024 local time, the United States announced that it would impose additional tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Under Section 301, tariff rates on certain steel and aluminum products will increase from 0-7.5% to 25% this year.

The United States says steel is an important sector of the U.S. economy and American companies are leading the way to a clean steel future. Most recently, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $6 billion in funding for 33 clean manufacturing projects, including steel and aluminum, including the first new primary aluminum smelter in 40 years, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act were implemented. The United States believes these investments will make the United States one of the first countries in the world to convert clean hydrogen into clean steel, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the U.S. steel industry as the world’s cleanest major steel producer.

The United States says American workers continue to face unfair competition from off-market excess capacity in China’s steel and aluminum, one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries. The United States believes that China’s policies and subsidies for the domestic steel and aluminum industries mean that high-quality, low-emission American products are squeezed out by artificially low-priced Chinese high-emission alternatives. Raising tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products will protect American steel. and the aluminum industry from China’s trade practices.