President Trump’s decision to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has been severely condemned by China’s top ranking government department and also its leading steel industry association.
Wang Hejun, director of Ministry of Commerce’s Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, said on March 9 that ‘powerful measures’ would be taken to defend China’s legitimate rights and interests, should the US not revoke the steel and aluminum tariffs.
Wang stated the vast majority of steel and aluminum products imported by the US were for civilian use, which could not pose any threat to its national security. He accused the US of causing “severe adverse impact” on normal global trade order.
Meanwhile, also on March 9, the China Iron & Steel Association issued a statement on its website, calling for the Chinese government to take action against imports of US stainless steel, hot-dip galvanized coil, seamless pipe, as well as coal, agricultural products and electrical devices. However, the association did not elaborate on what kinds of actions it proposed to take.
One mill source, based in central China, said the direct impact caused by the US steel import tariff would be small, but what concerned him more was whether the US would extend import tariffs to other Chinese industries, which would damage China’s overall export market and threaten its foreign currency reserves.
—Jing Zhang
