Biden calls for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel as he makes economic pitch in Pittsburgh

President Joe Biden called on his administration to ratchet up pressure on the Chinese steel industry as he brings his economic competition pitch to Pittsburgh, the heart of the American steel industry, on Wednesday, part of a three-day campaign trail swing through battleground Pennsylvania.

“The bottom line is I want fair competition with China, not conflict,” Biden said in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. “And we’re in a stronger position to win the economic competition in the 21st century against China, or anywhere else, because we’re investing in America and American workers again.”

The domestic steel industry remains critical to building everything from cars to appliances, to roads and bridges, and Biden has made investment in American manufacturing a key plank of his economic policy – even as voters continue to give him low marks on his handling of the economy.