The Trump administration plans to extend relief from steel and aluminum tariffs to some countries, but not all, when their temporary exemptions expire on Tuesday, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
Ross, in an interview in Washington late Saturday, declined to identify which nations would be spared from the tariffs. He said the announcement will be made right before the Tuesday deadline for the duties to kick in. The secretary indicated on Friday that nations have been asked to accept import quotas in return for tariff-free access of the metals into the U.S.
The steel and aluminum tariffs are fueling tensions with some of America's strongest allies, just as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin leads a delegation this week to China for talks on what the U.S. sees as Beijing's unfair trading practices. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on as much as $150 billion of Chinese goods if negotiations fail to yield progress, a move China that has said would provoke retaliation against key American imports.