By David Shepardson and Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) – The United States said on Friday it will open talks with Japan over tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The U.S. Commerce Department United States Trade Representative’s Office said the talks were aimed at addressing “global steel and aluminum excess capacity.” Japan last week asked the United States to abolish the “Section 232” tariffs imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration in 2018.
The announcement comes before Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai are set to visit Japan on Monday.
The United States said the two countries will seek to address concerns over the Section 232 tariffs “and the sufficiency of actions that address steel and aluminum excess capacity with the aim of taking mutually beneficial and effective actions to restore market-oriented conditions.”
“It’s about time,” said Myron Brilliant, head of the international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “The tariff exclusion process needs to take place with Japan and Korea and the UK. We’re strongly encouraged by any signals that the administration is pursuing that. We think it’s very important to reduce this trade irritant in our relationship with important allies and trading partners of the United States.”
Last month, the United States and European Union agreed to end a festering dispute over the 2018 Trump U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, removing an irritant in transatlantic relations and averting a spike in EU retaliatory tariffs.
The deal maintains Section 232 tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% aluminum, while allowing “limited volumes” of EU-produced metals into the United States duty-free.
The agreement requires EU steel and aluminum to be entirely produced in the bloc – a standard known as “melted and poured” – to qualify for duty-free status. The provision is aimed at preventing metals from China and non-EU countries from being minimally processed in Europe before export to the United States.
The deal eliminates Europe’s retaliatory tariffs against U.S. products. Raimondo said the deal will reduce costs for steel-consuming U.S. manufacturers.
The Japanese steel industry is concerned that the U.S.-EU agreement will result in a comprehensive relaxation of measures for certain countries and regions, Eiji Hashimoto, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, said last week.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Andrea Shalal in Washington Editing by Diane Craft and Matthew Lewis)
(([email protected]; 2028988324;))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
www.nasdaq.com