Lifting Tariffs on Goods May Make Sense, US Commerce Chief Says

It may make sense to lift tariffs on some goods as a way to tame the hottest inflation in almost four decades, according to the president's commerce chief.

Gina Raimondo said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" that the steel and aluminum tariffs were necessary to protect American workers. She was asked if the administration would consider ending duties on billions of dollars of imports from China.

The president is looking at that. He's open to doing it if anyone brings him a good idea that will benefit American families.

Biden's team is considering what to do with former President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported goods. Companies that use the goods as inputs have been hurt by the tariffs protecting them from Chinese import competition.

Senior administration officials have differing views on what to do with the duties, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggesting in April that the US is open to rolling them back to help tame price growth.

The inflation rate could be reduced by 1.3 percentage points if a wide array of tariffs is eliminated.

The investigation concluded that China stole intellectual property from American companies. China imposed its own taxes on imported goods.

The former president imposed duties on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, Asia and many other countries due to national security concerns. While a truce has been reached with the European Union, Japan and United Kingdom, the US has refused to remove EU steel and aluminum from its national security list.

Raimondo stated last year that Trump's 25% duty on steel imports and 10% on aluminum have been effective. The duties have hurt family-owned businesses and fractured relationships with trading partners from Mexico and Canada to the EU and Japan according to manufacturers.