Japanese steel manufacturers can breathe a sigh of relief. The punitive tariffs of the USA do not apply.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington The United States and Japan have settled their dispute over the special tariffs on steel and aluminum imports introduced by then-US President Donald Trump. Japan will be allowed to import certain amounts of steel and aluminum duty-free into the United States from April, according to a statement on the agreement distributed in Washington on Monday. The duty-free trade volume should roughly correspond to that of 2018 and 2019, when there were no punitive tariffs. The agreement thus follows the model of an agreement between the government of US President Joe Biden and the European Union, which was announced at the end of last year.
Republican Trump justified the 25 percent tariffs, which also hit close US allies such as Japan and the Europeans, with “national security interests”. When he took office a year ago, the Democrat Biden promised to mend the relationship he had damaged with US allies.