Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he recognizes the risk of retaliation against the U.S. for steel and aluminum tariffs the Trump administration plans to impose but still believes the move will benefit American workers.

“If you want to negotiate things that are good for us, you have to be prepared for the consequences,” the Treasury chief said Wednesday in a phone interview with Bloomberg News. “Our objective is not to create a trade war. Our objective is to make sure U.S. companies and workers are treated fairly.”

President Donald Trump's call last week for tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports has stirred fears of a global trade fight. A formal announcement could come as soon as Thursday.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
  • Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.