The president, shown in April, greenlighted the steel and aluminum tariffs in March under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 after the Department of Commerce found that the imports posed a threat to U.S. national security. (AP)
Even as he announced the bold enforcement maneuver, Ross held open the possibility that President Donald Trump could lower or remove the tariffs if Canada, Mexico and the EU were willing to come to the table and offer new concessions, likely in the form of capping their steel and aluminum exports under a quota system.
"The president has the ability unilaterally to increase tariffs, decrease tariffs, eliminate them, impose quotas, impose a combination of tariffs and quotas — more or less to do anything he wishes," Ross said.
Trump greenlighted the steel and aluminum tariffs back in March under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 after the U.S. Department of Commerce found that the imports posed a threat to U.S. national security. But several allies were given a temporary reprieve to negotiate a solution with the White House that would help them avoid the tariffs.
Several of those trading partners — namely South Korea, Australia, Argentina and Brazil — have reached a permanent agreement with the U.S., trading tariff relief for a commitment to limit their exports to a certain percentage of last year's output.
But despite a monthlong extension of that initial temporary relief period, Canada, Mexico and the EU were unable to strike such a deal. The impasse sets the stage for hefty tariffs on three leading U.S. suppliers during a time when the administration's trade enforcement push is reaching a fever pitch.
The EU has already teed up around $1.6 billion in annual retaliatory tariffs at the World Trade Organization for the steel and aluminum duties. Canada and Mexico have made similar threats of retaliation, including on products like pork, grapes, apples and flat steel.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday that he has been a willing partner of the U.S. in its effort to counteract steel and aluminum overcapacity, but that the Trump administration's to move ahead with tariffs is a bridge too far.
"By targeting those who are not responsible for overcapacities, the U.S. is playing into the hands of those who are responsible for the problem," Juncker said in a statement. "The U.S. now leaves us with no choice but to proceed with a WTO dispute settlement case and with the imposition of additional duties on a number of imports from the U.S. We will defend the union's interests, in full compliance with international trade law."
The EU, Japan, India, Russia and numerous other nations have called foul on the administration's national security justification for the tariffs. They claim that security is being used as a veil for economic protectionism, and opted to treat the levies as safeguards before the WTO, which allows them to retaliate more quickly than through traditional dispute settlement.
For its part, the administration has drawn a straight line between the nation's economic interests and its national security as it paves the way for the tariffs, a line that Ross reiterated on Thursday.
"We take the view that without a strong economy, you can't have strong national security," he said. "The president's overwhelming objective is to reduce our trade deficit."
--Editing by Rebecca Flanagan.
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