Mnuchin: China not free of steel, aluminum tariffs

The Treasury secretary clarified that although the U.S. has agreed to hold off on implementing tariffs on roughly $50 billion in Chinese imports, the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum will remain in place.    The United States has not exempted China from the Trump administration’s controversial global tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
   Mnuchin was forced to clarify the U.S. position on the so-called Section 232 tariffs after the administration announced it would hold off on imposing Section 301 tariffs on between $50 billion and $60 billion annually in Chinese products in order to continue trade negotiations with Beijing.
   That announcement followed two days of meetings between trade officials from the two nations in Washington, D.C., during which both sides agreed to take steps to reduce the bilateral trade imbalance, increase U.S. exports of agriculture and energy and enhance protections for intellectual property.
   According to a report from Politico, Mnuchin told the Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Tuesday, “As it relates to China, the steel and aluminum tariffs will remain in force. Those were not part of our discussions.”
   The administration earlier this month negotiated agreements to exempt key U.S. allies from the steel and aluminum tariffs and extended temporary exemptions for others in order to continue talks, so a similar deal with China may yet be in the cards.
   For now, however, that particular bargaining chip remains unused.