https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/30/politics/tariff-deadline-delay/index.html
— President Donald Trump on Monday approved another month of relief from steel and
aluminum taris
for key allies, including the European Union, Canada and Mexico.
Facing a midnight deadline to prolong the exemptions or allow imports of steel and aluminum from those countries
to be taxed at 25% and 10%, respectively, Trump pushed the deadline another month — giving the US and its allies
more time to negotiate a final agreement.
The White House said in a statement that it is finalizing an agreement with Argentina, Australia and Brazil
concerning the taris
and is “extending negotiations” with Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
Administration ocials
have previously suggested the taris
could be replaced with quotas for countries that work
out an agreement with the US.
“In all of these negotiations, the Administration is focused on quotas that will restrain imports, prevent
transshipment, and protect the national security,” the White House said in a statement.
The White House said it has also “reached a final agreement with South Korea on steel imports,” which were part
of the administration’s renegotiation of the US-South Korea free trade agreement.
The decision came days after French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
personally lobbied Trump in Washington last week not to bring the steel and aluminum taris
down on the
European Union.
The prolonged exemptions for Canada and Mexico come as the Trump administration is working to renegotiate
NAFTA, the free trade agreement among the three countries.