WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers stepped up calls for President Donald Trump to pull back from proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as key trading partner Mexico rejected a bid by Washington to drive a wedge between it and Canada in talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. FILE PHOTO: Workers ride on an motor rickshaw through an aluminium ingots depot in Wuxi, Jiangsu province in this September 26, 2012 file picture. REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoFew details have emerged from the White House over the scope and timing of Trump’s tariffs - 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum - after a surprise announcement by the president last week. Financial markets have rallied off their lows on expectations the measures may be watered down in the face of an intense lobbying effort from leading Republicans, although so far Trump has stuck to his guns in public. On Tuesday, Representative Mark Meadows, the head of the Freedom Caucus, a staunchly conservative Republican grouping in Congress, raised concerns about the impact of the tariffs on American manufacturing and agriculture. Agriculture is a potential target for retaliatory tariffs from China if Trump pushes ahead. Meadows, who spoke to reporters after a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, said he had heard little support for the tariffs. “Most of the conversation I heard was not in support of that particular decision.” Those comments came after sharp criticism of the tariffs from House Speaker Paul Ryan and Representative Mark Walker who both on Monday issued statements critical of the proposals. Walker heads the Republican Study Committee, which has about 150 members, a majority of the party’s lawmakers in the House. Legislators and industry groups opposed to the duties have warned that the proposed tariffs would cause more damage to American companies and workers than they would help. They also note that the move would hit key allies such as Canada hardest, rather than having a direct impact on global dumping of steel and aluminum by China. “We fear that the proposed tariff may do more harm than good, hurting rather than helping the 97 percent of aluminum industry jobs in mid-and-downstream production processes,” the Aluminum Association said in a statement on Tuesday. Members of the administration have repeatedly said that the cost of the tariffs will be minimal for American consumers. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said they would add less than $200 to the cost of a car, for example. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin briefs on North Korea at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstOpponents have fought back, saying that consumers would end up paying more for a wide range of goods from cars, to canned beer and canned soup. MEXICO FIRES BACK Washington on Monday said that if Canada and Mexico agreed to their demands in the NAFTA talks, they could be exempted from the proposed steel and aluminum tariffs. The trilateral talks have gone on for six months with few signs
Read more from our friends at Reuters:
