Biden Administration set to increase Chinese steel tariffs

(Washington, D.C.) -- President Biden is calling on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to triple the tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum imports.  

Biden is making the call as he campaigns in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. He's slated to deliver remarks today at the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh, where he'll call for the existing 7.5% average tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum to be tripled.  

The Biden administration says the price of Chinese steel exports is about 40% lower than the price of U.S. exports, and that the tariffs will provide a "more level playing field."  

"President Biden is making historic investments in American steel and manufacturing that are a sharp contrast with the previous Administration," said the White House in a statement. "While the previous Administration failed to deliver an infrastructure bill, President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act are spurring hundreds of billions of dollars in private-sector manufacturing and clean energy investments. Under President Biden, investments in construction of new factories have more than doubled—after falling under the previous Administration even before the pandemic—while nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs have been created and construction employment is at a record high."

You can read the full statement released by the Biden Administration by clicking here.