Posted on 02/18/2018 11:05:18 AM PST by Hamiltonian
China has a message to President Donald Trump if he imposes heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum imports: The Asian nation will retaliate.
On Friday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recommended that Trump impose trade measures against foreign suppliers of the metals because of national security. Trump plans to make a decision by April on the recommendation, which includes a 53 percent tariff on steel from 12 countries, including China.......
"If the United States' final decision affects China's interests, we will take necessary measures to defend our rights," said Wang Hejun, a senior official at China's Commerce Ministry, according to a report Saturday by state-run news agency Xinhua.....
The Chinese Commerce Ministry urged the United States to "exercise restraint in using trade protection tools, and observe multilateral rules," according to the Xinhua report.......
China's Commerce Ministry said the reports the nation is threatening U.S. national security are "groundless."
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
“If the United States’ final decision affects China’s interests, we will take necessary measures to defend our rights,”
It’s their ‘right’ to engage in unfair trading practices.
F them! No coal, iron, or steel for China. Nothing! And we don’t pay them anything until they completely remove their fortress islands traitors Obama and Hillary Obama let them build!
“China warns of retaliation”
Then threaten to renounce our debt to them.
Secretary Ross Releases Steel and Aluminum 232 Reports in Coordination with White House
Today, Secretary Wilbur Ross released reports on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s investigations into the impact on our national security from imports of steel mill products and from imports of wrought and unwrought aluminum. These investigations were carried out under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended. All classified and business confidential information in the reports was redacted before the release.
“I am glad that we were able to provide this analysis and these recommendations to the President,” said Secretary Ross. “I look forward to his decision on any potential course of action.”
The Department of Commerce found that the quantities and circumstances of steel and aluminum imports “threaten to impair the national security,” as defined by Section 232.
The reports are currently under consideration by the President, and no final decisions have been made with regard to their contents. The President may take a range of actions, or no action, based on the analysis and recommendations provided in the reports. Action could include making modifications to the courses of action proposed, such as adjusting percentages.
The President is required to make a decision on the steel recommendations by April 11, 2018, and on the aluminum recommendations by April 19, 2018.
Key Findings of the Steel Report:
The United States is the world’s largest importer of steel. Our imports are nearly four times our exports. Six basic oxygen furnaces and four electric furnaces have closed since 2000 and employment has dropped by 35% since 1998.
World steelmaking capacity is 2.4 billion metric tons, up 127% from 2000, while steel demand grew at a slower rate. The recent global excess capacity is 700 million tons, almost 7 times the annual total of U.S. steel consumption.
China is by far the largest producer and exporter of steel, and the largest source of excess steel capacity. Their excess capacity alone exceeds the total U.S. steel-making capacity.
On an average month, China produces nearly as much steel as the U.S. does in a year. For certain types of steel, such as for electrical transformers, only one U.S. producer remains.
As of February 15, 2018, the U.S. had 169 antidumping and countervailing duty orders in place on steel, of which 29 are against China, and there are 25 ongoing investigations.
Recommendations of the Steel Report:
Secretary Ross has recommended to the President that he consider the following alternative remedies to address the problem of steel imports:
A global tariff of at least 24% on all steel imports from all countries, or
A tariff of at least 53% on all steel imports from 12 countries (Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam) with a quota by product on steel imports from all other countries equal to 100% of their 2017 exports to the United States, or
A quota on all steel products from all countries equal to 63% of each country’s 2017 exports to the United States. Each of these remedies is intended to increase domestic steel production from its present 73% of capacity to approximately an 80% operating rate, the minimum rate needed for the long-term viability of the industry. Each remedy applies measures to all countries and all steel products to prevent circumvention.
The tariffs and quotas would be in addition to any duties already in place. The report recommends that a process be put in place to allow the Secretary to grant requests from U.S. companies to exclude specific products if the U.S. lacks sufficient domestic capacity or for national security considerations. Any exclusions granted could result in changed tariffs or quotas for the remaining products to maintain the overall effect.
Key Findings of the Aluminum Report:
Aluminum imports have risen to 90% of total demand for primary aluminum, up from 66% in 2012.
From 2013 to 2016 aluminum industry employment fell by 58%, 6 smelters shut down, and only two of the remaining 5 smelters are operating at capacity, even though demand has grown considerably.
At today’s reduced military spending, military consumption of aluminum is a small percentage of total consumption and therefore is insufficient by itself to preserve the viability of the smelters. For example, there is only one remaining U.S. producer of the high-quality aluminum alloy needed for military aerospace. Infrastructure, which is necessary for our economic security, is a major use of aluminum.
The Commerce Department has recently brought trade cases to try to address the dumping of aluminum. As of February 15, 2018, the U.S. had two antidumping and countervailing duty orders in place on aluminum, both against China, and there are four ongoing investigations against China.
Recommendations of the Aluminum Report:
Secretary Ross has recommended to President Trump three alternative remedies for dealing with the excessive imports of aluminum. These would cover both aluminum ingots and a wide variety of aluminum products.
A tariff of at least 7.7% on all aluminum exports from all countries, or
A tariff of 23.6% on all products from China, Hong Kong, Russia, Venezuela and Vietnam. All the other countries would be subject to quotas equal to 100% of their 2017 exports to the United States, or
A quota on all imports from all countries equal to a maximum of 86.7% of their 2017 exports to the United States.
Each of the three proposals is intended to raise production of aluminum from the present 48% average capacity to 80%, a level that would provide the industry with long-term viability. Each remedy applies measures to all countries and all steel products to prevent circumvention.
The tariffs and quotas would be in addition to any duties already in place. The report recommends that a process be put in place to allow the Secretary to grant requests from U.S. companies to exclude specific products if the U.S. lacks sufficient domestic capacity or for national security considerations. Any exclusions granted could result in changed tariffs or quotas for the remaining products to maintain the overall effect.
I’ve had too many failures from crap chinese steel over the years, no matter how much they protest its always subgrade.
defend our rights, getting away with murder with the help of Hillary bill and obama
And the Chinese retaliation would be - what? They would sic the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the South Koreans?
China, it would seem, has a pretty delicate balancing problem here, walking a tightrope while Trump is at one end, shaking the rope up and down.
Never play hardball with the king of hardball.
Well, what we have here is an opportunity for China to stop charging us, or improve their product. Or both.
That should be the basis for negotiations without getting huffy about it.
National security? NSS! Dumb idea to hand over our steel and manufacturing industries to an enemy like Communist China to begin with. Incredibly stupid!
Ya. No doubt you have welded on that crap. When I am running a bead with Low-hy (7018) on it, will be going along and the bead is popping from the gas/dirt pockets in that junk.
So what?
BTW, I dont even use wire feed on it anymore since it wont hold.
Got to stick weld it to even have a chance.
"Oh please don't throw me into the briar patch!"
If China puts tariffs on Chinese goods for sale to the USA, that will drive down demand for those Chinese goods that have suddenly become more expensive. That just might force us to make those goods here in the USA, and slow the out-go of American dollars. Win-win?
Got it backwards, China putting tariffs on American goods to China. The slowdown of trade will benefit us by slowing the out-go of American dollars.
“Oh please don’t throw me into the briar patch!”
China = Tar Baby
If the ball-less President George Bush had kept the tariffs in place back in the day, Beth Steel and a few others might still be around. Ross is the king of the bottom feeders.
We should levy a fine against China for all the trademark and patent infringement over the years with all their crappy knock-offs of legitimate products, the fine to be exactly what we ‘owe’ them in their US Treasury holdings, call everything square, and build up our own mfg. base and send them back to the 11th century where they belong.
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