Commerce Secretary Ross says the new trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico – to be known as USMCA going forward, not NAFTA – will not result in the removal of steel and aluminum tariffs, which he says will be handled separately and have no timeline.
“There are problems specific to steel and aluminum relating to our national defense, and at this point of time, those stay the same,” Ross tells Fox Business Network. “For that matter, there’s also a provision in here that if we put in a [Section] 232 on automobiles in the future, there will be an exemption of current levels from within the Canadian, Mexican manufacturing.”
Ross says a benefit of the new agreement is that 40%-45% of auto content will be produced at wages more than $16/hour, “meant to assure that the U.S. gets its fair share