President Biden is in Pennsylvania Wednesday to call for the tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports, as well as protections for the U.S. steel and aluminum industry.
At the U.S. Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh Wednesday, the Pennsylvania-born president is urging the U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, to consider tripling the existing 7.5% tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum imports. American workers face “unfair competition” from Chinese imports, and high-quality U.S. products are undercut by “artificially low-priced” Chinese alternatives that use higher emissions, the White House says.
The Biden administration is also pursuing anti-dumping investigations against countries that try to saturate markets with Chinese steel, and the U.S. is working with Mexico to make sure Chinese companies can’t avoid tariffs by shipping steel there first. Tai is also launching an investigation into China’s practices in the maritime, shipbuilding and logistics sectors, the White House says.
Alex Brandon / AP
The announcement comes amid the planned sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese-owned Nippon Steel, which the president strongly opposes.
As the president continues his three-day swing through Scranton, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, his campaign is launching a six-figure, five-day ad blitz highlighting Mr. Biden’s pro-labor stances. Pennsylvania is a battleground state this November, with former President Donald Trump and Mr. Biden neck-and-neck in polls.
“Scranton values or Mar-a-Lago values,” Mr. Biden said during a speech in Scranton Tuesday, referencing Trump’s luxurious Florida resort. “These are the competing visions for our economy, and they raise questions of fundamental fairness at the heart of his campaign.”
— Bo Erickson contributed to this report
