Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Wednesday that the Trump administration is likely to implement its controversial steel and aluminum tariffs before the end of Friday.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the president, but I believe that we will live up to his promise that it will be this week, not including Saturday,” Ross told Fox Business.
Trump administration officials have been racing to finalize the tariffs by the end of the week.
President Trump announced last week that the administration would impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports. The administration has argued that they are needed on national security grounds, but Trump has made clear that they are intended to pressure Canada and Mexico to agree to concessions in the renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The proposed tariffs will include “carve-outs” for some countries with whom trade provides a national security benefit to the U.S., White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday afternoon.
“There are potential carve-outs for Mexico and Canada based on national security, and possibly other countries as well,” Sanders told reporters at the White House.
Sanders said Trump would consider waiving the tariffs for imports from certain nations on a “case by case and country by country” basis, and noted the criteria for exemptions would be linked to national security.
China’s exports to the U.S. will face tariffs if the country does nothing to fix the behavior Trump has previously criticized, Sanders said. Beyond the trade deficit the U.S. has with China, Trump has slammed currency manipulation and intellectual property theft as activities that China uses to exploit American companies.
The tariffs have been widely criticized by business groups and congressional Republicans.
