US President
Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are a “black day”
for the world and businesses, BHP chief executive officer Andrew Mackenzie said
Tuesday.
Speaking at
the AFR Business Summit, the leader of the world’s biggest miner said Trump’s
protectionist move was just a way of propping up an uncompetitive industry.
He was
referring to the White House's plan to hike tariffs on imported steel by 25%
and by 10% on aluminum, which are expected to be discussed later this week in a
meeting organized by the government’s economics adviser Gary Cohn.
BHP chief
executive officer Andrew Mackenzie said Trump’s protectionist move was just a
way of propping up an uncompetitive industry.
Cohn is
calling producers and executives from steel-dependant companies to meet
with the President on Thursday to fight the announced increases.
“I am worried
that people all around the world might suddenly say that free trade isn’t good
for the world,” Mackenzie said during a panel on the economy. “That would be
particularly bad for a trading company like BHP […] We have to speak up loudly
against these measures as being bad for America and bad for the world," he
said according to Bloomberg.
Australia is
hoping Trump will fulfil a promise made on the sidelines of last year’s G20
summit to exempt its steel and aluminum. However, Trump has said
he’s not considering any exclusions to
the measure.
US Republican
leaders, in turn, have expressed their worries about a potential global trade
war, arguing it could hit American jobs and
undermine the benefits of recent corporate tax cuts.
In a letter to Trump published Tuesday, American
aluminum producers told the President they were "deeply
concerned" about the effect global tariffs would have on their industry,
including jobs.
The group, which
represents 114 producers and other companies, including Alcoa, Vulcan and Rio
Tinto Alcan, offered alternatives such as a tariff specifically targeted
to China's aluminum industry and an exemption for Canadian, European and other
foreign producers.
Source:
mining.com