WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Biden proposes a tripling of the tariff rate on steel and aluminum from China, the White House announced Wednesday. The president has asked the U.S. Trade Representative to consider increasing the current average tariff from 7.5% to 22.5% to counter what he said is unfair competition from Chinese products.

What You Need To Know

  • President Biden proposes a tripling of the tariff rate on steel and aluminum from China

  • The president has asked the U.S. Trade Representaitve to consider increasing the current average tariff from 7.5% to 22.5%

  • China makes almost 50% of the steel that is used globally and sells it at prices that are about 40% lower than U.S. steel

  • Chinese steel currently accounts for 0.6% of U.S. demand

“The president is committed to ensuring that American infrastructure and industries of the future, like clean energy and electric vehicles, will be made here in America using American steel made by American workers,” National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said during a briefing on the proposal Tuesday.

As a companion to the administration’s investments in American manufacturing, she said, “We also have to protect those investments and those workers from unfair exports associated with China’s industrial overcapacity.”

China makes almost 50% of the steel that is used globally, according to a senior administration official. While Chinese steel accounts for 0.6% of U.S. demand, the official said China is producing more than it can use domestically or the world can easily absorb.

Brainard said steel exports subsidized by the Chinese government run the risk of flooding global markets at “artificially low prices.”

China’s export steel prices are about 40% lower than U.S. Steel prices, according to a senior administration official.

The United States already imposes tariffs on Chinese steel. To triple them, the U.S. Trade Representative would need to approve the proposal.

Five labor unions, including the United Steelworkers, have already petitioned the Trade Representative to investigate Chinese policies and practices in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries. They said the Chinese government is engaging in aggressive, non-market policies.

The proposed actions come days after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with senior officials in China to address concerns about overcapacity in a variety of industries, including steel and solar panels.

Biden will travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to meet with the United Steelworkers union. Last week, he said he opposed Nippon Steel’s $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, despite 98% of shareholders approving the deal. The Department of Justice needs to clear the merger.