Argentinian President Mauricio Macri last week called US President Donald Trump to discuss the possible exemption of Argentina from the US' imposition of a 25% tariff on steel imports, the Argentinian presidency press office reported Monday.
"[Macri] expressed concern about the potential negative effect of these measures," the press office said in a statement. "Trump promised to evaluate [Macri's] request for Argentina to be exempted from any restrictive measures affecting steel and aluminum exports to the United States." Macri and Trump spoke for 15 minutes on the phone Friday, according to the press office.
Argentinian Secretary of Commerce Miguel Braun traveled to the US for several meetings this week to discuss the tariff.
The US will implement a 25% tariff on imports of steel and a 10% tariff on imports of aluminum, which will take effect March 23.
Canada and Mexico will be excluded from the initial tariffs. The proclamations signed by Trump on March 8 allow other countries to request an exemption, a senior administration official said in a media briefing ahead of the signing.
Following a nine-month investigation into the effect of steel imports on national security, the Department of Commerce delivered its Section 232 report and recommendations to Trump on January 11.
A global tariff of at least 24% on all steel imports from all countries was one of three recommendations presented by Commerce in its report. However, the administration decided to impose a tariff of 25% on steel based on additional data and analysis by Commerce following delivery of the initial report, the administration official said.
