Mnuchin recommends Trump to exempt Canada from additional aluminium and steel tariffs

The US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged President Donald Trump to exempt Canada from additional 25 per cent tariffs on imported steel and 10 per cent on imported aluminium, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in a trade meeting at White House. This news came from senior administration officials and two sources close to the White House.

According to the sources, Mnuchin made a request to Donald Trump to exempt Canada from the recently imposed additional tariffs, after returning from the G-7 finance minister’s summit in Canada. He raised the point that the United States has a US$ 2 billion steel surplus with Canada and nearly US$ 26 billion services surplus.

The trade meeting on June 5 was attended by National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Trade Advisor Peter Navarro, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Chief of Staff John Kelly. Many of them opposed Mnuchin’s recommendations, according to two sources familiar with the conversations.

President Trump’s decision to impose aluminium and steel tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and the European Union’s exports has evoked immense fears of a trade war and therefore, expected to be at the top of the agenda when Trump meets the world’s economic powers in person at the G-7 summit in Canada on Friday, June 8, 2018.

So, it’s no surprise if Mnuchin faced blowback from all the US allies at the G-7 finance minister’s summit last Saturday. Canada, Italy, Germany, France, Japan and the United Kingdom issued a joint request to Mnuchin to express their unanimous concern and disappointment to Donald Trump at the summit.

“The Canadians made an impassioned personal plea to Mnuchin to take the case up with Trump,” an administration official said.