[ferro-alloys.com]US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday credited the US tariffs on steel and aluminum -- and the potential for tariffs on automotive imports -- with bringing the EU to the table to work toward eliminating trade restrictions between the two parties.

Working toward zero tariffs is where Trump's trade policy has always been, Ross said, speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, according to a transcript provided by the White House.

"But to get there, we had to take a route of trying to make it more painful for the other parties to continue bad practices than to drop them," Ross said. "And that's why he put up tariffs to put pressure on. And it seems to be starting to work. I think if we hadn't done the steel and aluminum tariffs, and if we hadn't had the threat of automotive tariffs, we never would have gotten to the point where we are now."

The US' 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% tariff on aluminum imports, which took effect for EU countries June 1, will remain in place as the parties work to reach a deal, Ross said. The Department of Commerce will continue its Section 232 investigation into auto imports, but will not implement any trade actions against the EU pending the outcome of the negotiations, he added.

Following a directive from Trump, Commerce launched a new Section 232 investigation at the end of May to examine whether or not imports of vehicles and auto parts threaten US national security. Ross said the department may be ready to deliver its report on autos to Trump in August.

It is unclear how long it may take for the US and EU to reach an agreement that would see the Section 232 tariffs and other tariffs lifted, Ross said, but added that the administration will be looking to move forward quickly.

"Normally, trade discussions take multiple years, but that's because they generally have one meeting and then pause for a month, have another meeting, so we're going to try to do it much faster. Just as NAFTA has been a much faster process than a normal trade discussion," he said.

Additionally, because the US and EU have already established the objective of the negotiations -- which Ross referred to as the "three zeros": zero tariffs, zero non-tariff trade barriers, and zero subsidies -- it should speed up negotiations.

When asked about the negative effects the steel and aluminum tariffs have had on downstream manufacturers, including lay offs, Ross said the tariffs have become a scapegoat as US unemployment statistics have been improving.

"There are some cases where people have been laid off. It's not always because of tariffs," Ross said. "A lot of companies have been using the excuse, 'Oh, the reason my earnings weren't good is that there were the tariffs.' In many cases, that's not the main reason. The main reason is there was something else going on in their overall picture ... So anybody who thinks that the steel and aluminum tariffs have ... hurt employment simply doesn't read the weekly [unemployment] statistics."

• [Editor:王可]