Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday said Canada and Mexico could be exempted from new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., subject to a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“As the president just announced, Canada is a very significant partner that buys steel and sells steel,” Mr. Mnuchin said at a hearing on Capitol Hill. “To the extent that we’re successful in re-negotiating NAFTA, those tariffs won’t apply to Mexico and Canada.”
President Trump had mentioned the possibility of exempting Canada and Mexico in a Monday tweet, after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday there wouldn’t be any country exclusions for the new tariffs.
“We’re trying to balance protecting these industries, which are very important, with making sure we don’t do undue harm to the economy,” Mr. Mnuchin said Tuesday.
“We’re not looking to get into trade wars,” he said. “We are looking to make sure that U.S. companies can compete fairly around the world.”
Mr. Mnuchin spoke at a House appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Treasury Department’s 2019 budget.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump’s steel, aluminum tariffs to proceed despite criticism
Mr. Trump’s plan to impose a new 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a new 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports has prompted bipartisan pushback from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Republicans say they fear the move could dampen the positive economic effects from the GOP’s $1.5 trillion tax-cut law, which they’re featuring as a key part of their 2018 midterm strategy.
“I’m concerned that after everything we’ve done to help our constituents through tax reform, the tariffs the president recently announced are going to undermine some of these recent gains,” said Rep. Kevin Yoder, Kansas Republican.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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