Biden to keep tariffs on UAE aluminium, reversing Trump removal
Biden to keep tariffs on UAE aluminium, reversing Trump removal
It's the latest reversal of a Trump administration policy by the new president.
2 min read
The decision is meant to protect domestic production [Getty]
President Joe Biden will continue to impose a 10 percent tariff on aluminium imports from the UAE, going back on a decision by his predecessor Donald Trump to lift the levies.
The exemption granted by former President Trump on his last day in office was due to take effect on Wednesday.
Washington and Abu Dhabi had agreed to unspecified quotas to restrict aluminium imports, Trump said last month.
In a statement on Monday, the White House said the Biden administration would continue to impose the tariffs to better protect domestic producers.
"In my view, the available evidence indicates that imports from the UAE may still displace domestic production, and thereby threaten to impair our national security," Biden said.
"I consider it is necessary and appropriate in light of our national security interests to maintain, at this time, the tariff treatment applied to aluminum article imports from the United Arab Emirates," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The decision should not be seen as "derogative to the close diplomatic relationship between the United States and UAE", a White House spokesperson said.
The Biden administration looks to be reassessing other aspects of American-Emirati relations.
Last week, the State Department froze arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the Gulf states' involvement in the bloody Yemeni civil war.
Also on hold is the $25 million sale of F-35 fighter jets promised to Abu Dhabi by the Trump administration as part of an agreement to normalise ties with Israel.
President Biden has also pledged to end US support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week.
Washington's relationship with Saudi Arabia is now "under review", Blinken added.
The Biden administration has reversed a number of other policies imposed by Trump, including the notorious "Muslim ban" that barred citizens of Iran, Syria and other mostly Muslim-majority nations from traveling to the US.
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The exemption granted by former President Trump on his last day in office was due to take effect on Wednesday.
Washington and Abu Dhabi had agreed to unspecified quotas to restrict aluminium imports, Trump said last month.
In a statement on Monday, the White House said the Biden administration would continue to impose the tariffs to better protect domestic producers.
"In my view, the available evidence indicates that imports from the UAE may still displace domestic production, and thereby threaten to impair our national security," Biden said.
"I consider it is necessary and appropriate in light of our national security interests to maintain, at this time, the tariff treatment applied to aluminum article imports from the United Arab Emirates," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The decision should not be seen as "derogative to the close diplomatic relationship between the United States and UAE", a White House spokesperson said.
The Biden administration looks to be reassessing other aspects of American-Emirati relations.
Last week, the State Department froze arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the Gulf states' involvement in the bloody Yemeni civil war.
Also on hold is the $25 million sale of F-35 fighter jets promised to Abu Dhabi by the Trump administration as part of an agreement to normalise ties with Israel.
President Biden has also pledged to end US support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week.
Washington's relationship with Saudi Arabia is now "under review", Blinken added.
The Biden administration has reversed a number of other policies imposed by Trump, including the notorious "Muslim ban" that barred citizens of Iran, Syria and other mostly Muslim-majority nations from traveling to the US.
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