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<\/p>\nWashington, DC…The following is from the meeting today where President Trump mentioned potential tariff amounts on steel and aluminium. This has been widely reported as an impetus for the Dow dropping over 400 points today…”Thank you very much everyone. We have with us the biggest steel companies in the United States. They used to be a lot bigger, but they\u2019re going to be a lot bigger again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And we have the big aluminum companies in the United States. And they\u2019ve been very unfairly treated by bad policy, by bad trade deals, by other countries. They\u2019ve been horribly treated by other countries, and they have not been properly represented. More importantly, because of that, workers in our country have not been properly represented.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re going to build our steel industry back and we\u2019re going to build our aluminum industry back. And I just want you to hear from a couple of the folks in the room. We\u2019ll have a few speak.<\/p>\n
But I might want to start with Dave Burritt from U.S. Steel. It was a massive company years ago, and got smaller and smaller and smaller. And Dave was with Caterpillar for 35 years \u2014<\/p>\n
MR. BURRITT: Thirty-three years, yeah.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Thirty-three years. And did a great job. They brought him in. He\u2019s been there for a short while, and he wants to build it back up.<\/p>\n
Dave, maybe you could say a little bit to the room and to the press about U.S. Steel and where they were, where they\u2019re going, and what you think of what we\u2019re going to do.<\/p>\n
MR. BURRITT: Well, thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.<\/p>\n
MR. BURRITT: And thank you very much for your leadership on this issue. And also, Commerce Secretary, thank you, sir, very much. This is vital to the interests of the United States. This is our moment, and it\u2019s really important that we get this right.<\/p>\n
The alternatives that the Commerce Secretary presented were all good alternatives, and we trust your judgment, in terms of the ones to be selected. We believe that the leadership that this administration has shown on tax reform is simply outstanding. The elimination of bureaucracy is simply outstanding. We trust your judgment on this issue.<\/p>\n
And having been somebody that has global views and believes in free trade, we know when it\u2019s completely unfair. We are not protectionists. We want a level playing field. It\u2019s for our employees; to support our customers. And when we get this right, it will be great for the United States of America. We have to get this done.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: And for your company and for your workers and for so much else, even the security of our own nation.<\/p>\n
MR. BURRITT: Absolutely.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: You like the tariffs that we\u2019re talking about. You like the tariffs where they won\u2019t be dumping on our country. What they do is they dump massive amounts of product on our country, and it just kills \u2014 it destroys our companies and our jobs. And it\u2019s been happening for so many years, and we are not the beneficiary.<\/p>\n
You feel tariffs are the answer?<\/p>\n
MR. BURRITT: Yes, sir. The transshipments that go on, which you are well aware of \u2014 we call it the Whac-A-Mole game. It\u2019s time for Whac-A-Mole to end. It\u2019s time for some fairness here. It\u2019s past time.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: People have no idea how badly our country has been treated by other countries, by people representing us that didn\u2019t have a clue. Or if they did, then they should be ashamed of themselves because they\u2019ve destroyed the steel industry, they\u2019ve destroyed the aluminum industry, and other industries, frankly, when you look at all the plants, the car plants, automobile plants that moved down to Mexico for no reason whatsoever, except we didn\u2019t know what we were doing.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re bringing it all back. John, could I ask you to say a few words?<\/p>\n
MR. FERRIOLA: Absolutely. We believe very strongly \u2014 first of all, thank you \u2014<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.<\/p>\n
MR. FERRIOLA: \u2014 for the work that you\u2019ve done as Secretary. We appreciate all the work that\u2019s been done on this issue. We believe very strongly that it\u2019s time for decisive and meaningful action to stem the flow of illegally traded imports into this country. And we are counting on the administration to fulfill the promises that were made and to give us that level playing field to compete.<\/p>\n
We are confident \u2014 we have 25,000 teammates that \u2014 I always say, we\u2019re confident, if they are given a level playing field, they will out-compete any company and any country in the world. All we want is a level playing field. And, today, we\u2019re not getting that. The cheating is phenomenal. The amount of circumvention that takes place is incredible.<\/p>\n
Just look at last year. Last year, Mr. President, the imports increased 15 percent in 2017, over 2016. Once we initiated the beginning of the 232, other countries saw this as the need to get in before it went into effect.<\/p>\n
So what we\u2019re asking for today is fast action and action that will last.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know, I tell the story that, a couple of months ago, we put tariffs on washing machines coming into the country, because they were dumping the machines all over the place and we had lost our manufacturing abilities for washing machines. Now we have plants being built; put a 30 percent tariff on. And we have plants being built, and nobody has seen that in many, many years, and it\u2019s happening at a rapid pace.<\/p>\n
Same thing with the solar panels. We had 32 companies, of which 30 of them were out of business, they were closed. And the two were on mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. They were finished. They would have closed pretty quickly.<\/p>\n
And now, the two are doing much better and they\u2019re talking about opening seven or eight of the old plants that were closed. And they weren\u2019t even so old \u2014 the solar panels.<\/p>\n
So, a lot of good things could happen. The fact is, we weren\u2019t treated, and we haven\u2019t been treated fairly by other countries. But I don\u2019t blame the other countries. When I was in China, I said, \u201cListen, President Xi\u201d \u2014 I have a lot of respect for President Xi. I said, \u201cI don\u2019t blame you.\u201d If you\u2019re able to get away with making almost $500 billion a year off of our country, how could I blame you? Somebody agreed to these deals. And those people should be ashamed of themselves, what they\u2019ve let happen.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re bringing it back, and we\u2019re going to bring it back relatively rapidly, and we\u2019re going to be instituting tariffs. Next week, we\u2019ll be signing \u2014 perhaps some of you folks will be here. When you have Nucor, when you have U.S. Steel, you have the great aluminum companies represented at this table. And they\u2019ve been decimated. Aluminum has been decimated in the country.<\/p>\n
Perhaps you would say something, as a great aluminum company that\u2019s been in business for a long time. How about \u2014<\/p>\n
MR. LAPIDES: Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: \u2014 a few words on aluminum?<\/p>\n
MR. LAPIDES: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Secretary Ross and the other members here, Secretary Mnuchin. We\u2019re in a situation where competing unfairly has meant that there\u2019s been capital depletion in our business, a lack of investment. And that lack of investment is reflected in a loss of jobs in America. And it\u2019s all been a matter of unfair competition.<\/p>\n
And we need a level playing field, or we\u2019re going to lose our manufacturing infrastructure and the national security issues that surround having a vibrant, capable manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. We\u2019re going to take care of the situation, okay? So steel and aluminum will see a lot of good things happen. We\u2019re going to have new jobs popping up. We\u2019re going to have much more vibrant companies. And then the rest is going to be up to management to make them truly great. If you could ever make U.S. Steel like it used to be, we\u2019d be very happy. And I actually think it\u2019s possible. But you have a long way to go.<\/p>\n
I remember when I was growing up, U.S. Steel, that was the ultimate company. And today, you have so many closed plants. And the NAFTA deal was a disaster for our country. The WTO has been a disaster for this country, for our country. In fact, the rise of China, economically, was \u2014 if you look at it \u2014 directly equal to the date of the opening of the World Trade Organization. It has been great for China and terrible for the United States, and great for other countries. But terrible for the United States.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re talking about it, and two of the groups that I want to do some very fast action will probably have everything completed by next week. We\u2019ll be imposing tariffs on steel imports, and tariffs on aluminum imports. And you\u2019re going to see a lot of good things happen. You\u2019re going to see expansions of the companies.<\/p>\n
I know that, David, you said you\u2019d be expanding. Tim, I know you said you were expanding.<\/p>\n
MR. TIMKEN: Absolutely.<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: You\u2019re all \u2014 pretty much all of you will immediately be expanding if we give you that level playing field, if we give you that help. And you\u2019re going to hire more workers, and your workers are going to be very happy. They\u2019re going to be very, very happy.<\/p>\n
And again, what\u2019s been allowed to go on for decades is disgraceful. It\u2019s disgraceful. And when it comes to a time when our country can\u2019t make aluminum and steel \u2014 and somebody said it before, and I will tell you, you almost don\u2019t have much of a country. Because without steel and aluminum, your country is not the same. And we need it.<\/p>\n
We need it even for defense, if you think. I mean, we need it for defense. We need great steelmakers, great aluminum makers for defense.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019ll probably see you sometime next week. We\u2019ll be signing it in. And you will have protection for the first time in a long while, and you\u2019re going to regrow your industries. That\u2019s all I\u2019m asking. You have to regrow your industries.<\/p>\n
Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for being here. We appreciate it. Mr. Secretary, thank you very much. And we\u2019ll see you next week.<\/p>\n
Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much.<\/p>\n
Q How long, do you think, on the tariffs?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Unlimited period. Unlimited.<\/p>\n
Q Twenty-five on steel?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Twenty-five percent for steel. It will be 10 percent for aluminum. And it will be for a long period of time.<\/p>\n
Q Do you have comment on Jeff Sessions, sir?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.<\/p>\n
Q Twenty-five for steel and ten for aluminum?<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: Twenty-five for steel and ten for aluminum.<\/p>\n
Q (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s being written now.<\/p>\n
Q Thank you, sir.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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