US steel and aluminium imports face big tariffs, Trump says

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President Donald Trump has said he will sign off on steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports next week, hitting producers like China.

Flanked by US metals executives at the White House, he said a 25% tariff would be placed on steel products, and a 10% tariff would be imposed on aluminium.

Mr Trump tweeted that the US was suffering from "unfair trade".

The US imports four times more steel than it exports, and is reliant on steel produced in China.

In Thursday's announcement, Mr Trump said "we haven't been treated fairly by other countries", citing China.

He spoke as Chinese economic adviser Liu He, a friend of Chinese President Xi Jinping, visited the White House.

Mr Liu was due to meet separately with one of the US president's top economic advisers, Gary Cohn.

What's the context?

Throughout his presidential campaign and since taking office, Mr Trump said cheap imports from China were harming the viability of US industry.

China isn't the only country to export steel to the US - 110 countries and territories do so. And China is only the 11th biggest biggest exporter to the US - Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Russia are the five biggest.

Last year, the president ordered an investigation by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross into "whether steel imports threaten to impair the national security", drawing a link between economic prosperity and the country's security.

Mr Ross' report was published last month. It said US national security was indeed threatened, and made three recommendations, one of which was putting in place a 24% tariff on all steel imports.

It also proposed adding a 7.7% tariff to all aluminium imports, among other options.

What's Trump said on the issue?

On Thursday morning, he tweeted: "Our Steel and Aluminum industries (and many others) have been decimated by decades of unfair trade and bad policy with countries from around the world.

"We must not let our country, companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer. We want free, fair and SMART TRADE!"

During his campaign, he said that foreign countries were "dumping vast amounts of steel all over the United States, which essentially is killing our steelworkers and steel companies".

Trade war in the White House

By Tara McKelvey, BBC White House reporter

The president wants to be seen as tough on trade and China, and so do many of his top officials: Pete Navarro, a trade adviser who's tipped for promotion, has hawkish views.

So does Harry Harris, the president's pick for ambassador to Australia. Still, some advisers thought the president should take it slow.

Aides huddled behind closed doors and in a hallway on Thursday morning, and the president's announcement was postponed.

The scheduling conflict reflected a bigger clash: a fight between hardliners and those who approach trade in a more cautious manner.

Meanwhile, the boss was right where he liked to be: in the eye of the storm, and everyone was waiting for him to speak.