Washington may cancel the portion of the tariff on metals in the fight against the coronavirus
Pandemic coronavirus has caused heated debate in the White house and the U.S. Congress about whether the administration is trump to cancel the import tariffs, which it imposed for China and other countries to ensure economic recovery and lower prices for metals. About this in Sunday says The New York Times.
Supporters of tariff saying that it would be a simple and immediate way to help businesses and consumers to combat higher costs. The US tariffs on foreign steel, aluminum and Chinese goods worth more than 360 billion dollars has reduced profits for companies that depend on imported goods and spare parts has slowed down business investment and the impact on households, especially on the lower level of the income scale.
But opponents warn that the move could give China an economic advantage in a particularly difficult moment. Factories in China gradually resumed its production after the victory over the virus, but the epidemic in the United States and Europe continues to grow, and now closed schools, restaurants, offices and industrial enterprises.
They believe that the Chinese government and businesses take advantage of any pause in rates, to capture a larger share of the world's industries, leading Beijing to a dominant position in the world economy for years to come.
the Idea of lowering tariffs, in particular, global metals, has strong support among free traders in Congress, including Senator Patrick J. Toomey, Republican from Pennsylvania, and Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa.
In an interview on Friday, Mr. Toomey said that the abolition of tariffs on steel and aluminum will not affect China, as the United States have virtually eliminated imports of steel and of aluminium from this country. However, it will help the American economy, he said.
"I think it will be an incentive for the markets, and more importantly, it will be good for the steel and aluminum industries, and it will help to stabilize the economy and employment," said Mr. Toomey.
He added that measures to reduce tariffs on metals may be included in a package of measures to stimulate the American economy.
However, in a letter sent to Congress in the second half of the day on Friday, Thomas M. Conway, international President of United Steelworkers, warned against the lifting of tariffs on steel, stating that it would harm the steel industry.
"In manufacturing plants across the country have already announced a reduction of production, downtime and layoffs, and if the current crisis continues, we can expect more bad news," wrote Mr. Conway. "Now is not the time to allow the flow of imports crush domestic industry and its workers".
Mr. Conway, whose group originally demanded the introduction of tariffs, argued that the rollback of tariffs, which may promote the interests of China. He quoted a study Horizon Advisory, a firm that analyzes the publications in the Chinese language, speeches and other documents, which said that some Chinese strategists believe that the recovery from the coronavirus will primarily give China's economic opportunities.
Some Chinese government officials and leading scientists have called this a pandemic is a possibility to increase the share of Chinese companies on the world market, attract foreign investment and bolster China's influence on the system, including a telecommunication network 5G, Horizon Advisory analysts in a note published on Thursday.
They also depicted it as the most suitable time, in order to encourage international companies to bring their supply chains from China to avoid the tariffs, said in a note.
"as the spread of the virus at the international level, China will have more opportunities, including in terms of reducing the pressure in order to move the international supply chain from China", - said in a report dated March 9, written jointly by the Shanghai advanced Institute of Finance, Institute of economic research and a research group of China Institute of Finance at Shanghai Jiaotong University.