Beijing’s Initial Reaction to Metals Tariffs? Cautious<br />Those talks are being portrayed in China as productive even though Mr. Trump made his tariff announcement on the first full day of Mr. Liu’s visit<br />and even though Mr. Trump himself did not meet with Mr. Liu.<br />The broader message from Beijing since Mr. Trump’s announcement on Thursday has been<br />that Chinese officials still hope to keep talking to the United States and head off broader disputes over trade and investment.<br />Administration officials blame chronic global overcapacity in both steel<br />and aluminum manufacturing on China’s many state-owned enterprises in steel and aluminum, as well as the many direct and indirect government subsidies these enterprises receive.<br />While previous administrations have put their efforts into trying to open China’s markets to greater exports, with limited<br />success, Trump administration officials have voiced a much greater willingness to limit American imports of Chinese goods.<br />Mr. Trump and Robert Lighthizer, his United States trade representative, have also focused on shrinking the bilateral trade deficit.<br />Most of China’s steel and aluminum exports go to countries other than the United States,<br />and much of it is processed into other goods before it ever leaves China.
