PH won’t suffer from heavy US tariffs on steel

The country’s largest steel company said that the Philippines would not suffer any direct impact from a proposed tariff on steel and aluminum products that would enter the United States.

In a statement, SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. said the Philippines did not have huge trade ties with the United States in terms of steel products.

US President Donald Trump last week warned that he would slap heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to protect US producers.

If the plan pushed through, this would mean an imposition of a 25 percent import duty on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

However, Steel Asia president Adrian Cristobal Jr. is not worried.

“The Philippines is not a big trading partner of the US for steel. So, there will be no direct impact,” he said. —Roy Stephen C. Canivel