The White House today defended Trump administration's move to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, saying these are defensive measures and are not aimed at any individual country.
US President Donald Trump brought in tariffs of 25 per cent on EU steel imports and 10 per cent on imported aluminium on June 1, citing "national security" interests.
"These tariffs are not aimed at any individual country, whether it is a strategic rival like China, or an ally and friend like Canada. They're simply a defensive measure in order to bring about a strong stand. And we have that," White House Director of National Trade Council Peter Navarro told CNN in an interview.
"We have steel and aluminum tariffs that went into place for one simple reason. As President Trump has said, without steel and aluminum industries in this country, we don't have a country. And so, the challenge we faced from a policy point of view is how do you do that?" he said.
Asserting that Trump, basically is supporting American workers and American people, Navarro said the latest job reports was a complete validation of economic policy that basically said there's millions of Americans on the sidelines by globalization that are destitute and hurt.