Washington — The US commerce department has recommended that President Donald Trump impose steep curbs on steel and aluminium imports from China and other countries ranging from global and country- specific tariffs to broad import quotas, according to proposals released on Friday. China’s commerce ministry responded by saying the report was "baseless" and did not accord with the facts. China would take necessary steps to protects its interests if the final decision affected China. The long-awaited unveiling of the commerce department’s section 232 national security reviews of the two industries contained tariff options of at least 24% on all steel products from all countries and at least 7.7% on all aluminium products from all countries. Alternatively, the commerce department recommended a tariff of at least 53% on all steel imports from SA, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. Other countries would be subject to a quo...
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