Energy Secretary Rick Perry wants tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to be “strategic,” rather than a blanket policy that targets all countries’ imports.
“I think strategically deploying tariffs, and messaging and regulations, is the key here,” Perry told reporters Wednesday at the energy conference CERAWeek in Houston.
His comments came amid ongoing criticism by the oil and natural gas industry that tariffs are the wrong direction for the U.S. energy sector, especially for oil and natural gas pipeline development.
The president “does know there are countries out there who are in fact impacting the market by their engagement of subsidies [and] what some would refer to as unfair trade practices,” Perry told reporters at the five-day energy conference.
He added that Trump is aware of the effects the tariffs would have on the energy sector and wants to keep the energy sector economically viable in any decision he makes.
“We see the president’s announcement on the steel and aluminum tariffs as inconsistent with his broader energy vision,” Jack Gerard, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, told the Washington Examiner on the sidelines of the conference. He pointed out that many of the materials used to build oil and natural gas pipelines are imported.
“And if you put limitations on that, it potentially disrupts what we’re doing in creating infrastructure in this country,” Gerard said. “So, we are very concerned about the direction the president is going on the trade question.”
Gerard said the tariff proposal raises some “inconsistencies” that need to be “sorted out and resolved” between the president’s desire to create more jobs and the impact the tariffs will have across industries.
“We support all the efforts to have a robust, domestic economy,” said the head of the largest oil and gas lobbying group. “But we also have to take into consideration what does that mean for some of our sectors that rely on imported steel to develop and pursue our activities, such as building pipelines.”
Perry said “making sure the energy sector remains viable, strong economically is very much on his [President Trump’s] mind.”
Perry added that Trump is still considering the tariffs. “I’m not sure he has made up his mind with clarity about where he wants to go with this.”
A decision is expected be announced this week.
