U.S. allies line up for exemptions from Trump's aluminum, steel tariffs

From Japan and South Korea to Australia and Europe, officials are alsoseeking exemptions from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports something he has givenCanada and Mexico for now while Chinese producers are calling on Beijing to retaliate in kind.

Tokyo and Brussels rejected any suggestion that theirexports to the United States threatened its national security Trump's justification for imposing the tariffs despite warningsat home and abroad that they could provoke a global trade war.

Trump signed an order for the 25 per cent tariffs on steelimports and 10 per cent for aluminum at the White House on Thursday to counter cheap imports, especially from China, whichhe described as "an assault on our country."

However, Trumpsaid "real friends" of the United States couldwin waivers from the measures, which come into force after 15days. He exempted Canada and Mexico, fellow membersof the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he istrying to renegotiate.

Brazil, which after Canada is the biggest steel supplier tothe U.S. market, said it wanted to join the list.

"We will workto exclude Brazil from this measure," Acting Trade MinisterMarcos Jorge told Reuters after meeting U.S. Commerce SecretaryWilbur Ross. Argentina made a similar case.

Japan, the United States's top economic and military ally inAsia, was next in line. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Sugatold a news conference that Japan's steel and aluminum shipmentsposed no threat to U.S. national security.

With Japan a major trade partner and international investor,Suga said that, on the contrary, they contributed greatly to employment and industry in the United States. Japan's steelindustry body also expressed concern.

'Not a threat'

The European Union, the world's biggest trade bloc, chimedin.

"Europe is certainly not a threat to American internal security so we expect to be excluded," European trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in Brussels.

Malmstrom told reporters the EU was ready to complain to theWorld Trade Organizationand retaliate within 90 days. She willmeet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and JapaneseTrade Minister Hiroshige Seko in Brussels on Saturday when shewill ask whether the EU is to be included in the tariffs.

Other officials at the EU, by far the biggest tradingpartner of the United States by value, have warned it could take counter-measures including European tariffs on U.S. oranges,tobacco and bourbon.

The loss of exports to the U.S., combined with an expected massive import surge in the EU, could cost tens of thousands of jobs in the EU steel industry and related sectors.- Axel Eggert, head of steel association EUROFER

Some products under consideration are largely produced inconstituencies controlled by Trump's Republican Party. Brusselshas reminded Trump that tit-for-tat trade measures deepened theGreat Depression in the 1930s and in the 2000s cost thousands ofU.S. jobs when Washington imposed tariffs on European steel.

European industry associations called on Malmstrom to reactto the tariffs.

"The loss of exports to the U.S., combined withan expected massive import surge in the EU, could cost tens of thousands of jobs in the EU steel industry and related sectors,"said Axel Eggert, head of steel association EUROFER.

In Sydney, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull citedWashington's strong relationship with Australia, adding: "There is no case for imposing tariffs on Australian steel."

Legitimate rights

Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have risensince Trump took office last year. China accounts for only a small fraction of U.S. steel imports, but its rapid rise toproduce half the world's steel has helped create a global glut that has driven down prices.

Beijing vowed to "firmly defend its legitimate rights andinterests."The tariffs would "seriously impact the normal order of international trade," the Ministry of Commerce said.

China's steel and metals associations urged the governmentto retaliate, citing imports from the United States ranging fromstainless steel to coal, agricultural products and electronics.It was the most explicit threat yet from thecountry in the escalating trade row.

The dispute has fuelled concerns that soybeans, the UnitedStates'smost valuable export to China, might be caught up in therow after Beijing launched a probe into imports of U.S. sorghum,a grain used in animal feed and liquor.

Within minutes of Trump's announcement, U.S. RepublicanSenator Jeff Flake, a critic of the president, said he would introduce a bill to nullify the tariffs. But that would probablyrequire Congress to muster an extremely difficult two-thirds majority to override a Trump veto.

Some Democrats praised the move. Senator Joe Manchin of WestVirginia said it was "past time to defend our interests, oursecurity and our workers in the global economy."

South Korea, the third largest steel exporter to the UnitedStates and a strategic ally on the Korean peninsula, called for calm.

"We should prevent a trade war situation from excessiveprotectionism, in which the entire world harms each other,"Trade Minister Paik Un-gyu told a meeting with steelmakers.

While carrying a message to Washington to push forward adiplomatic breakthrough over North Korea, South Korea's nationalsecurity office chief,Chung Eui-yong,requested U.S. officials tosupport Seoul's request for a waiver, a presidential spokespersonsaid.