ECONOMY/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Trump administration officials on Sunday [3-4-18] defended the president’s plan to levy tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and played down the likelihood the U.S. would allow for many exclusions from the proposals.
The tariff plan would do little to hurt the broader U.S. economy, said the officials, who also minimized the potential impact of retaliation by U.S. trading partners… President Donald Trump said last week the U.S. would levy a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% duty on imported aluminum.
Many details remain unclear; Mr. Navarro said Sunday on CNN that he expected the White House Office of Legal Counsel to issue a formal trade proclamation this week that the president would sign.
Asked whether the tariffs would include any exemptions or exclude any countries, Mr. Navarro suggested the U.S. might over time exclude some products that the U.S. doesn’t produce, but he played down the chances of any countries getting sweeping exclusions right away… The administration’s resistance to including any exemptions or exclusions has rankled some Trump political allies, who called for more targeted tariffs. Others in the administration, including National Economic Council director Gary Cohn and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have opposed the push for broad tariffs.”
-Ben Leubsdorf and Rebecca Ballhaus, “White House Defends Trump’s Proposed Steel, Aluminum Tariffs,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 4, 2018 11:42am