Canada and Mexico won’t be hit with President Trump’s planned tariffs on imported steel and aluminum if separate trade agreements go well, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday morning.
“To the extent that we’re successful in renegotiating NAFTA, those tariffs won’t apply to Mexico and Canada,” Mnuchin said during a House appropriations hearing, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“We’re not looking to get into trade wars, we’re looking to make sure U.S. companies can compete fairly around the world,” Mnuchin added.
Trump has said he plans to institute worldwide tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, using a power granted to the president for national security purposes decades ago. The tariffs face opposition within the White House and among congressional Republicans, some of whom challenged Mnuchin at Tuesday’s hearing. Prominent House Republicans have advised Trump not to levy the tariffs on countries that don’t engage in abusive trading practices, including Canada and Mexico.
Trump also tweeted Monday morning that the tariffs wouldn’t apply to America’s neighbors if the NAFTA talks go well. Canada, he said, must treat U.S. farmers “better,” and Mexico must “do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S.”
We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018
…treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018
