Commerce secretary defends decision to postpone tariffs on key U.S. allies

The Trump White House is defending its decision to delay imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on some key allies, arguing it's doing so to give ongoing behind-the-scenes talks room to develop and potentially preclude the need for the tariffs altogether.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross alluded to those negotiations in a cable news interview Tuesday.

“We’re having some potentially fruitful discussions about an overall reduction in trade tensions between the EU and ourselves,” Ross said on CNBC.

On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it would give a 30-day exemption from the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum for Canada, Mexico and the European Union, pushing back the original deadline of May 1. It also heralded a final agreement with South Korea on steel imports and “agreements in principle” with Argentina, Australia and Brazil.

Trump originally announced his intention to impose the tariffs – 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum – at the beginning of March.

"People have no idea how badly our country has been treated by other countries, by people representing us that didn’t have a clue. Or if they did, then they should be ashamed of themselves because they’ve destroyed the steel industry, they’ve destroyed the aluminum industry, and other industries, frankly," he said during the March 1 announcement.

In a statement, the EU criticized the one-month exemption, saying it should not have been subject to the trade penalties in the first place.

“The U.S. decision prolongs market uncertainty, which is already affecting business decisions. The EU should be fully and permanently exempted from these measures, as they cannot be justified on the grounds of national security,” the statement said.

The European statement noted that it is not the culprit behind the overproduction of steel and aluminum that has led to global market distortions. It did not mention China by name, but China is the most flagrant abuser of international norms that discourage such excess production, which can produce trade imbalances.

The EU also noted that its trade commissioner has been in touch with Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer “over the past weeks,” but criticized the fact that these negotiations were happening under a cloud of potential tariffs.

“We will not negotiate under threat,” the statement read.

Ross heads to China Tuesday evening to discuss trade with his counterparts there, but would not give much of a preview of his meetings other than to say, “I wouldn’t be going all the way over there if I didn’t think there was some hope.”

Besides the steel and aluminum tariffs, the U.S. imposed additional tariffs on China to punish it for what the U.S. says is China’s infringement on American intellectual property.

Domestically, the tariff postponement announcement was received positively by President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans, many of whom raised alarms after they were initially announced, saying they could spur a trade war and threaten American jobs.

“I am committed to working with the Administration to ensure that these tariffs are narrow and targeted to protect our workers and job creators here at home and to enact good trade policies that grow our economy, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady said in a statement.

And a trade group that represents American farmers lauded the decision, saying it would make negotiations over the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico smoother.

“With so much at stake, we urge the administration to continue its focus on successfully concluding NAFTA negotiations and providing much-needed economic stability for rural Americans,” they said.