Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says he favors removing the Section 232 tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum which has led those countries to impose tariffs on U.S. farm products.
Perdue acknowledged that the tariffs have “a dampening effect” on the benefits of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, according to the Hagstrom Report.
Perdue said: “I would be an advocate for relaxing those,” in a speech to a joint meeting of the North American Meat Institute, the Canadian Meat Council and a Mexican meat industry group.
The section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs are separate from the USMCA that will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Perdue says the White House and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer discussed the tariffs during a recent meeting, but no conclusion was reached.
Source: National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.