US slaps fresh tariffs on Chinese aluminium

[F-22Raptor]

The US says it will slap tougher tariffs on Chinese aluminium alloy after an investigation into the trade.

The Commerce Department said the metal was being sold below cost or with government subsidies - making it impossible for US producers to compete.

Beijing has expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the step and said China would pursue its legal rights.

The decision came as China's top economic advisor Liu He arrived in the US to discuss tensions over trade.

The duties will be levied on several Chinese firms - ranging from almost 50% to more than 100%.

But the decision still needs to be backed by the International Trade Commission (ITC), which is due to announce its decision by March 15.

The tariffs follow what Washington called an "historic" probe to push President Donald Trump's tough-on-trade agenda.

"This Administration is committed to trade that is fair and reciprocal, and we will not allow American workers and businesses to be harmed by unfair imports," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross explained in a statement.

China's would take measures to protect its rights and interests, the country's Ministry of Commerce said.

The US investigation was launched in November last year, shortly after President Trump and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross visited China.

In 2016, imports of aluminium foil from China were valued at an estimated $389m (£280m), according to the Commerce Department.

And it said it had evidence that the imports pose a threat to US industry.

Under the Obama administration, the US complained to the World Trade Organisation about aluminium subsidies in China.

But the Trump administration has embraced a more go-it-alone approach.

In April last year, the Commerce Department launched a separate investigation into steel and aluminium imports on national security grounds.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43221914

 

[Viva_Viet]

Will.it make million Cnese workers lose jobs ??

 

[Beast]

Will.it make million Cnese workers lose jobs ??

It will make Vietnamese penniless.

 

[Mentee]

Did someone say free market?

 

[oprih]

I think america's attempt to sabotage China's rise is futile.

 

[TaiShang]

 

[52051]

It will make Vietnamese penniless.

Dont need that to be, agent orange already get the job done.

 

[terranMarine]

Will.it make million Cnese workers lose jobs ??

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/busine...-tax-hike-on-steel-exports-to-us-3716215.html
Trump has until April to decide whether or not to slap further steel tariffs on 12 countries, including Vietnam.

The U.S. Commerce Department has recommended that President Donald Trump impose steep curbs on steel and aluminum imports from certain countries, including Vietnam, according to Reuters.

The long-awaited unveiling of commerce's "Section 232" national security reviews of the two industries contained global tariff options of at least 24 percent on all steel products from all countries, and at least 7.7 percent on all aluminum products from all countries.

The recommendations were presented to Trump after he authorized the probes under a 1962 trade law that has not been invoked since 2001. He has until April 11 to announce his decision on steel import curbs and by April 20 to decide on aluminum restrictions.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross emphasized that Trump would have the final say, including on whether to exclude certain countries, such as NATO allies, from any actions.

Commerce recommended a steel tariff of at least 53 percent on all steel imports from 12 countries - Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
The country-specific aluminum tariff option would impose a 23.6 percent tariff on all products from China, Hong Kong, Russia, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Talking about the move, the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam said it will closely follow the case and coordinate with the Vietnam Steel Association and relevant firms and agencies to deal with the issue.

Given that Vietnamese steel and aluminum account for a small proportion of U.S. imports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked the U.S government to carefully consider the import restriction to ensure it respects WTO rules and international practices without harming trade development between the two countries, said the ministry.
“The Ministry of Industry and Trade will closely follow the case, and will consider ways to deal with the issue, ensuring the legitimate rights of Vietnamese firms,” the ministry said.

Last December, the U.S. Commerce Department slapped steep import duties on steel products from Vietnam that originated in China after finding they evaded U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy orders.

The department said it will apply the same Chinese anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rates on corrosion-resistant and cold-rolled steel from Vietnam that starts out as Chinese-made hot-rolled steel.

Vietnamese-shipped cold-rolled steel will face combined preliminary U.S. anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties of 531 percent, while corrosion-resistant steel will face combined duties of 238 percent - more than high enough to shut both products out of the U.S market.

In 2017, Vietnam exported 380,000 tons of steel worth $303 million to the U.S.​

 

[patman]

Good move , anti dumping should be encouraged. This is what China does , seen it a million times , flood the market for yesrs with state subsidized goods , drive the native competitors bankrupt , buy them & skyrocket the prices

 

[nang2]

The Commerce Department said the metal was being sold below cost or with government subsidies - making it impossible for US producers to compete.

if this were true, that would be China giving US some foreign aid for free. why would anyone turn down that offer?

 

[Zsari]

China shrugs off ‘stupid trade protection measure’ by U.S.
NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE
BEIJING
PUBLISHED MARCH 2, 2018UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO

The U.S. plan to slap punitive new tariffs on steel and aluminum amounts to a "stupid trade protection measure," one of China's largest industry groups said Friday, as the world's second-largest economy confronted looming new barriers to its product across the Pacific.

China makes roughly half the world's aluminum and steel, and is a large exporter of both.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday pledged 25-per-cent tariffs on imports of steel and 10 per cent on aluminum, an act that stoked trade-war fears and hurt markets across the globe. The Nikkei 500 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both dropped 1.6 per cent Friday. Markets in Shenzhen and Shanghai also retreated, and analysts issued dark warnings about the consequences of hurting global trade sensitivities, and the revenge Beijing can take.

But China's vast metals complex reacted largely with a shrug to Mr. Trump's pledge to exact punishment for industrial overcapacity.

Though China's metal exports have surged in recent years as domestic demand slowed, just a sliver of those shipments land on U.S. shores. The U.S. is only the 26th-largest buyer of Chinese steel, importing just 1 per cent of China's exports last year.

China is the fourth-largest source of overall U.S. aluminum imports, supplying 9 per cent of the total (Canada is 42 per cent), according to data from research consultancy Wood Mackenzie. But China is the top foreign source of aluminum products such as sheets and foils into the United States, and the new tariffs will cause a "blow," said Kamil Wlazly, a senior research analyst with the firm.

"The unprecedented increase in imports of light- and medium-gauge foils from China over the past decade has forced many U.S. foil producers to delay investment or suspend operations," he said. In the U.S. "well-thought trade restrictions on imports of Chinese downstream products would encourage domestic demand and investment."

The Aluminum Association in the U.S. has argued that "subsidized production in China, which is leading to unfair and illegal trade practices, threatens the industry's continued health."

And the new tariffs "will have a negative effect on us, for sure, because it's a matter of cost," said Bai Qi, marketing manager at Huayu Hengmei Aluminum Ltd. Corp. in China's Henan province, which exports to the U.S.

But Ms. Bai wasn't particularly worried.

"Our company has started considering new markets that can substitute for the U.S. We haven't come to any conclusion, but I think there will be many." For now, "things are running as usual," she said.

At Dongkuk Steel in Jiangsu, a client manager who gave only his surname, Zhang, was even more sanguine.

"The majority of the steel we produce is exported to South Korea. The share that the U.S. market accounts for is barely noticeable," he said. "So if it becomes difficult, we could just abandon it. It has no effect on our normal production."

The tariffs will merely cause the competitiveness of the U.S. industry to decline, argued the China Iron and Steel Association, which called the measures a "stupid trade protection measure" Friday.


They also risk provoking ugly recriminations from Asia. South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late February called for a "stern" response to any U.S. measures, threatening to complain to the World Trade Organization, or even to look for possible violations of the free-trade agreement between the two countries.

The tariffs Mr. Trump announced Thursday are less punitive than those once feared by South Korea – and the U.S. President may take solace in comments from South Korean steel maker Nexteel Co. Ltd., which told the Yonhap news agency that it has considered moving some of its production lines to the U.S. in response.

Still, Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo on Friday said Mr. Trump's move "will do nothing other than distort trade and ultimately, we believe, will lead to a loss of jobs."

In China, meanwhile, new warnings emerged about the revenge Beijing can take.

The U.S. risks "Chinese retaliation and a tit-for-tat trade war, just as the Tariff Act of 1930 did with dark consequences," wrote economic analyst Dan Steinbock in a lengthy commentary published by China Daily this week.

Top trade representatives from both China and South Korea are currently in the United States, hoping to blunt the blow before the tariffs are finalized.

"Exemptions for particular countries may be forthcoming," analysts with BMI Research wrote. But, it warned, "if implemented as announced, retaliatory measures from countries including China, Canada and Mexico could target U.S. industries ranging from agribusiness to aerospace and services."

Indeed, "we firmly oppose this action and will take responsive measures when it's necessary," said a senior official at the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the foreign press.

"Global trade is an interactive process. I think the Chinese government will take eye-for-an-eye measures in response," he said. "We won't just stay where we are after getting a punch in face."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/new...ade-protection-measure-by-us/article38178615/

 

[Viva_Viet]

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/busine...-tax-hike-on-steel-exports-to-us-3716215.html
Trump has until April to decide whether or not to slap further steel tariffs on 12 countries, including Vietnam.

The U.S. Commerce Department has recommended that President Donald Trump impose steep curbs on steel and aluminum imports from certain countries, including Vietnam, according to Reuters.

The long-awaited unveiling of commerce's "Section 232" national security reviews of the two industries contained global tariff options of at least 24 percent on all steel products from all countries, and at least 7.7 percent on all aluminum products from all countries.

The recommendations were presented to Trump after he authorized the probes under a 1962 trade law that has not been invoked since 2001. He has until April 11 to announce his decision on steel import curbs and by April 20 to decide on aluminum restrictions.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross emphasized that Trump would have the final say, including on whether to exclude certain countries, such as NATO allies, from any actions.

Commerce recommended a steel tariff of at least 53 percent on all steel imports from 12 countries - Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
The country-specific aluminum tariff option would impose a 23.6 percent tariff on all products from China, Hong Kong, Russia, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Talking about the move, the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam said it will closely follow the case and coordinate with the Vietnam Steel Association and relevant firms and agencies to deal with the issue.

Given that Vietnamese steel and aluminum account for a small proportion of U.S. imports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked the U.S government to carefully consider the import restriction to ensure it respects WTO rules and international practices without harming trade development between the two countries, said the ministry.
“The Ministry of Industry and Trade will closely follow the case, and will consider ways to deal with the issue, ensuring the legitimate rights of Vietnamese firms,” the ministry said.

Last December, the U.S. Commerce Department slapped steep import duties on steel products from Vietnam that originated in China after finding they evaded U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy orders.

The department said it will apply the same Chinese anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rates on corrosion-resistant and cold-rolled steel from Vietnam that starts out as Chinese-made hot-rolled steel.

Vietnamese-shipped cold-rolled steel will face combined preliminary U.S. anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties of 531 percent, while corrosion-resistant steel will face combined duties of 238 percent - more than high enough to shut both products out of the U.S market.

In 2017, Vietnam exported 380,000 tons of steel worth $303 million to the U.S.​

We will sell steel to TPP nations while one TPP like CN-SK's ones are dead

 

[SipahSalar]

EU and Australia has threatened similar tariffs on US exports. I think this move has misfired.

 

[Viva_Viet]

EU and Australia has threatened similar tariffs on US exports. I think this move has misfired.

Thats why Trump wanna re-join TPP so US can kill all none TPP nations

 

[powastick]

US dollar artificially high when deficit for so long, but blame others cheating. US that is the one abandoning free market principle. Looks like their allies are hurting more than China.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...o-trade-war-as-eu-threatens-iconic-u-s-brands