President of the United States, Joe BidenAFP
Published 04/17/2024 20:36
“China’s policies and subsidies in favor of its local steel and aluminum industries mean that high-quality American products are being harmed,” the White House emphasized in a statement.
During a rally in Pennsylvania, a key state for November’s presidential elections and which has a deep-rooted industrial past, Biden stated that “Chinese steel companies don’t need to worry about making a profit, because the Chinese government subsidizes them. They don’t compete, they cheat”, said the American president, at the headquarters of the United Steelworkers union, in Pittsburgh.
At 81 years old, Biden hopes to be re-elected in November in a new dispute with Donald Trump, and has asked the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to triple the current tariffs, of 7.5% on average, imposed to some of the Chinese steel and aluminum imported into the United States. Despite these numbers, Biden has denied that he is seeking a trade war with China.
The Democratic president wants to convince the electorate that he is the best ally of workers and unions. He recently gained support for the election after opposing the purchase of American steel group US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel.
Former President Donald Trump is also trying to win the vote of the working class: he presents himself as a defender of the reactivation of the American manufacturing industry and promised to substantially increase tariffs if he is elected.
Economic and internal security
This investigation will be carried out by the USTR and responds to a request from several union organizations in these sectors, which denounce Chinese policies, which are “more aggressive and interventionist than those of any other country”.
These are accusations “that reflect what we have already seen in other sectors”, reacted this Wednesday the US trade representative, Katherine Tai, who committed to carrying out a “complete and in-depth” investigation.
“Steel is an essential component for our national shipbuilding industry”, indicates the White House.
But Beijing denounces Washington’s “false accusations.” The investigation “misinterprets normal trade and investment activities as harmful to national security and the interests of American companies,” said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in a statement. The United States “imposes its own industrial problems on China”, he stressed.
The White House’s announcements are made in a context of strong rivalry with China, despite renewed dialogue between the world’s two largest economies, and measures to reduce American dependence on Chinese industries.
“American-made steel remains essential to our economic and homeland security,” even as “high-quality American products face competition from artificially cheap alternatives produced with higher carbon emissions,” the White House emphasized.
Growing concern
The European Union is in a tug of war with Beijing and accuses it of distorting its market by flooding it with low-priced products, not just metals.
In Latin America, the steel industry, which generates 1.4 million jobs, is also concerned and is asking for taxes on imports.
The main Chilean steel company, Huachipato, recently announced the gradual suspension of its operations if it does not receive tariff protection, pressured by the avalanche of Chinese steel sold at up to 40% cheaper than that produced in Chile. Around 3,000 jobs are at risk.
