MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US President Donald Trump is considering an executive order which will launch formal investigation of the US international trade partners' dumping activities and its effect on the country's trade deficit, media reported Monday, citing a White House official.
“The administration would use the results of that investigation to determine the best path forward, which could potentially include everything from no action at all to the levying of supplemental duties. But whichever action we take would be informed by the results of the investigation and not by predetermined conclusions,” the US official said, as quoted by the Washington Post newspaper.
On Thursday, the US Department of Commerce established that imports by two German steel companies had been dumping steel plates in the US market and calculated higher duty rates for them, as well as for firms from Austria, Belgium, France and Italy. In response, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel asked EU authorities to consider filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the US’s "unfair," anti-dumping measures.
During his campaign for the Presidency, Trump repeatedly accused China of taking advantage of the United States and pledged to reduce US-China trade deficit and bring manufacturing jobs back to American shores.
Trump's administration has also adopted America First Trade Policy, which focuses on bringing jobs and investments to the country. On January 23, the US president signed an executive order withdrawing Washington from Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade treaty, and promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
