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Neal Statement on President Trump’s Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Announcement

March 8, 2018

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after President Trump announced his plan to impose tariffs of 10 percent on aluminum imports and 25 percent on steel imports, with provisional exceptions for Canada and Mexico:

"China's unfair trade practices have led to severe overcapacity in the steel and aluminum sectors that has devastated U.S. industries. As a result, American producers have shuttered their plants and workers have lost their jobs. It appears that the President is finally taking an action today to fulfill a nearly year-old promise to U.S. steel and aluminum producers and workers. You wouldn't necessarily know that, because for the last week he's pursued a chaotic process and used punishing rhetoric that treats all U.S. trading partners as national security concerns and fails to recognize the complexities of our market. Our workers and producers in steel and aluminum deserve effective relief, which will require strong and coordinated action with our allies. I expect the administration to ramp up its engagement with Congress, stakeholders, and our trading partners to ensure that today's actions lead to a sustainable solution that confronts the problems that we all know have been caused by China's rampant overcapacity in steel and aluminum."

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