U.S. Treasury Secretary supports steel and aluminum tariffs

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday he is "supportive" of President Donald Trump's plan of imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, downplaying the trade war fear.

"We're not looking to get into trade wars. We're looking to make sure that U.S. companies can compete fairly around the world," Mnuchin told lawmakers during a congressional committee hearing.

Trump announced March 1 that the United States planned to impose 25 percent of tariff on steel imports and 10 percent for aluminum, as these imports threaten the U.S. national security.

Trump's tariffs plan has drawn criticism from the Congress. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Monday that he was "extremely worried" about Trump's new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and urged the president not to move forward with the plan.

Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn has summoned executives from U.S. companies that depend on aluminum and steel to meet with Trump this Thursday, in a last-ditch attempt to persuade the president to ditch the tariff plan.

The threat of escalating tit-for-tat penalties has been soaring, as U.S. major trading partners have vowed to hit back. The European Commission is preparing punitive tariffs on U.S. exports from motorcycles to Kentucky bourbon, according to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Enditem