A top aide to President Trump warned U.S. trading partners on Monday not to escalate a trade dispute involving new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, even as many countries have said they are preparing retaliatory measures.
“Other countries should work with us to combat the unfair trade practices that have demolished our industries,” assistant to the president Peter Navarro wrote in an op-ed for USA Today.
“Escalation would be counterproductive,” he added.
Trump last week said he would soon impose a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum, but made sure to give Canada and Mexico more time to negotiate a workaround. Other countries also have the ability to negotiate with Trump to avoid the tariff, but some, including many European countries, are already drawing up lists of U.S. products that could see higher EU tariffs if Trump follows through on his threat.
Many Republicans have also said they oppose the tariffs, and warned that they would boost costs for U.S. manufacturers, and hurt U.S. exports that might bear the brunt of retaliation. But Navarro said the costs are worth the end result.
“A 10 percent tariff on aluminum will raise the cost of a six-pack of beer or soda by about two cents,” he wrote. “At the other end of the spectrum, a Boeing 777 jet, which requires dozens of tons of aluminum, costs about $320 million and the added cost of the aluminum tariff is a mere $20,000 — less than one-hundredth of 1 percent.”
“These relatively small costs are necessary to protect national security,” he wrote.
