U.S. allies are rushing to ask Trump to waive the steel and aluminum tax

US media claimed that South Korea mentioned its role in the situation on the peninsula. Europe reminds the United States that it is actually a long-term military ally of the United States. Australia has used secret weapons: President Trump's good friend and legendary golfer Greg Norman. Just one day after Trump signed an order to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, the manufacturing nations began to work hard to enter the list of exempted countries for these tariffs, including persuasion, threats, personal charisma and diplomatic influence.
According to the report of the “New York Times” website on March 9th, while EU leaders listed the list of US products levied on retaliatory tariffs and threatened to sue the WTO, they also reviewed the long history of friendly relations between Europe and the United States.
German Minister of Economic Affairs Brigitte Teplice wrote to US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Rose. She said that Europe and the United States should work together to solve the real problem: the global steel production capacity that led to the price drop.
She said: "On this issue, Europe and the United States need unity and no trade conflicts can occur."
The report stated that, however, the process of obtaining tariff immunity is also dangerous for the countries involved. If they want to provide some kind of reward for enjoying preferential treatment, such as Trump’s increase in military spending as requested by NATO allies, it may encourage the president to use the US market as a means of counterfeiting.
U.S. is considering waiving more countries
US website reported on March 9 that the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mutukin said on the 9th that apart from Mexico and Canada, soon more countries may be exempted from new steel and aluminum tariffs.
The report quoted Mutnukin as an interview with the Consumer News and Business Channel: "The president may impose exemptions, and I estimate that he may consider exempting some other countries for the next two weeks."
Munuchin said that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Rose also has the right to approve the exemption of tariffs on certain products. "He will soon issue a set of rules on how these products will be exempt from tariffs."
Munuchin also explained President Trump’s proposal to levy “equal tax” on trade. The president has mentioned this idea several times, but the government has never explained it in detail.
Munuchin said that the president has ordered him and other officials to study how to design this tax system, and said that officials have started a "preliminary discussion" with members of the Diet on this measure.
Munuchin said he did not want to fight trade war
According to reports, Mr. Munuchin also defended Trump's tariff plan and tried to minimize the threat of strong retaliatory actions issued by other countries.
He said: "Our goal is not to fight a trade war, but we have to defend the interests of the United States. I think the steel and aluminum tariffs announced on the 8th is a correct measure. We collect tariffs to protect related industries."
The report said that before Mr. Mutukin made the above remarks, Trump announced on the 8th that it would adopt the trade restrictions. The President’s plan has caused great controversy, and many economists believe that this is a wrong policy line that could trigger a large-scale trade war and ultimately damage the United States and the global economy.
Michael Ferroli, an economist at JPMorgan, said that these tariffs are unlikely to have any significant impact on economic performance. Instead, he feared the consequences of the move. He said: "The obvious risk is that major trade frictions will not be eliminated because of current measures, but will intensify."
According to the report, when the president announced the policy, he temporarily waived the tariffs of Canada and Mexico. He said that on the issue of how to implement this restriction, "We will show great flexibility." Munuchin also emphasized this point. Trump also issued a tweet earlier this month: "A trade war is a good thing and it is easy to win."
Munuchin said that he was discussing with officials of other countries on the issue of trade barriers, and the process of approving the exemption is continuing. He also said that the United States is "very effective communication with China on trade issues. They understand our wishes." "We all know very well that we have a common goal of reducing the trade deficit."
Trump tax excuse is too far-fetched
According to a report from the US website on March 9, President Trump announced on the 8th that the United States relied too much on imported aluminum, which is "essential to the key military and commercial systems," and imposed a 10% tariff on imported aluminum.
The report said that if the goal is real national security, then this is not enough. Aluminum can not be produced without bauxite, while alumina in the United States is completely dependent on imports.
According to the report, the definition given by the Ministry of Commerce to national security is quite broad enough to impose tariffs on all commodities or impose no tariff on any commodity: anything that weakens the “internal economy” will damage national security, including food, agriculture, and medical care. All 16 fields must be protected.
However, today's industrial products contain many ingredients from all over the world, and true self-sufficiency is almost impossible.
Alumina is a kind of clay rock, which can be used to produce alumina, which is bauxite, and then smelt to produce primary aluminum. Economically speaking, it is not worthwhile to extract bauxite in the United States. For the same reason, a considerable part of the earth's production activities has been transferred abroad because it is extremely power-consuming. Many aluminum companies in the United States have bauxite and alumina equipment abroad.