In Final Hour, Trump Eases Metal Tariffs on One More Nation
In Final Hour, Trump Eases Metal Tariffs on One More Nation
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Former President Donald Trump, as he left Washington for his home in Florida, issued a proclamation exempting one additional nation from metals tariffs.
The order exempted the United Arab Emirates -- which accounted for about a tenth of U.S. aluminum imports last year -- from 10% tariffs the Trump administration implemented in 2018. It instead placed quotas on the Persian Gulf nation, saying imports would have to remain close to historical levels without meaningful increases, language similar to that used when quotas were placed on Canada last year.
The measure makes it “more likely that domestic capacity utilization will be reasonably commensurate with the target level recommended in the Secretary’s report,” the proclamation said. “The United States has an important security relationship with the United Arab Emirates, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns in the Middle East, particularly in countering Iran’s malign influence there.”
The UAE government made removal of the tariffs one of its trade priorities with the U.S., and it expressed this interest in discussions with American officials since Trump first imposed the levies, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person asked not to be identified because he isn’t authorized to speak on the matter.
The UAE has also been trying for months to purchase F-35 jets from the U.S. and the two sides signed an agreement on Wednesday before Joe Biden was sworn in as Trump’s successor, Reuters reported.
The UAE normalized ties with Israel in August, an historic agreement that Trump brokered and touted as one of his most important foreign-policy successes.
Aluminum ranks as the UAE’s biggest exported good by value to the U.S. The Arab nation sold $1.3 billion worth of the metal to American buyers in 2019, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The U.S. posted an overall surplus in goods traded with the UAE that year of $15.6 billion, according to the representative’s website.
CRU Group says shipments from the UAE were roughly 11.5% of total U.S. imports last year through November, and about 14% in 2019. In 2019, that accounted for about 10.7% of total U.S. aluminum demand, according to the research group.
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