By Chris Megerian and Will Weissert, Associated PressPresident Joe Biden speaks at the United Steelworkers Headquarters in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
The Democrat’s administration is reviewing the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The president said last month he would oppose the deal, saying it was “vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said the “U.S. is making the same mistake again and again” by seeking increased tariffs. In a statement, he also dismissed those levies already in place as “the embodiment of unilateralism and protectionism of the U.S.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Wednesday that her office, acting on a petition from five national labor unions, was investigating China for “targeting the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors for dominance.”