As a result, American businesses and consumers will not benefit from the advantages free trade brings," he said. McCain said Trump compounded that mistake by forfeiting the opportunity to take targeted action to hold China accountable for its behaviour in international trade. "Instead, he chose to adopt sweeping tariffs that will punish our most important allies and partners all around the world. This strategic mistake will only succeed in undermining the credibility of American leadership on free and open trade, and risk driving our allies and partners closer to China," he said. Sharing Trump's concerns regarding Chinese steel overcapacity, Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was disappointed by the administration's approach to this problem and ultimate decision to use a rarely used national security provision to implement new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. "A better way to level the playing field for American companies would be to rally our friends and allies to advance a robust, targeted effort to ensure that only those responsible for excess global capacity pay a price," he said. "Unfortunately,I fear this announcement could have far-reaching unintended consequences that will put at risk the hard-fought economic gains US businesses have seen over the past year," Corker said. House Speaker Paul Ryan said he disagrees with this action and fear its unintended consequences. "I am pleased the president has listened to those who share my concerns and included an exemption for some American allies, but it should go further. We will continue to urge the administration to narrow this policy so that it is focused only on those countries and practices that violate trade law," Ryan said. "There are unquestionably bad trade practices by nations like China, but the better approach is targeted enforcement against those practices. Our economy and our national security are strengthened by fostering free trade with our allies and promoting the rule of law," he said. Defending the action, the White House said Trump is addressing global overcapacity and "unfair trade practices" in the steel and aluminium industries by imposing the tariffs. It said the strengthening of domestic steel and aluminium industries will reduce "our reliance on foreign producers".
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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