ZCZC
BCN-08
US-ECONOMY-TRADE-TRUMP-TARIFF-JAPAN
Japan steel industry urges Trump not to impose tariffs
TOKYO, March 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Japan’s steel industry Friday urged US
President Donald Trump not to impose steep tariffs on imports and warned the
move could trigger a trade war.
“It is our view that the tariff increase … is a market-distorting
measure which would cause serious harmful effects not only on steel exports
from Japan but also on steel trade worldwide,” Kosei Shindo, chairman of the
Japan Iron and Steel Federation, said in a letter to Trump.
Shindo said Trump’s move risked prompting other countries to use the
national security rationale to impose their own tariffs.
“It is likely that US actions … will create a negative chain reaction
affecting not only steel but also other products considered to have national
security implications, with other countries taking similar actions under
similar pretenses,” he said in the letter which was posted on the federation
website.
Trump triggered a furore on Thursday by announcing he would set tariffs of
25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium to protect US producers.
Shindo called on Trump to “exercise fair and sound judgment not to impose
tariffs or other restrictions on imported steel”.
“Maintaining the principle of free trade is vital for sustainable economic
growth and that principle should be fully respected,” he said.
The US only accounted for five percent of Japanese iron and steel exports
in 2016, far behind its main markets in South Korea and China.
BSS/AFP/HR/1000