President Joe Biden has told an audience of cheering unionized steelworkers that his administration will block the acquisition of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company, potentially. And he's calling for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel. The Democratic president is seeking to use trade policy to win over working-class votes in Pennsylvania, an election-year battleground. He said Wednesday that U.S. Steel “has been an iconic American company for more than a century and it should remain totally American.” His administration is reviewing the proposed acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel. On the tariff front, Chinese imports account for only a small percentage of the steel products coming into the United States so the higher fees are largely symbolic.
