▲ This photo, released by the Associated Press, shows U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaking during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 2, 2026. (Yonhap)

Bessent-tariffs

Bessent says 'we'll see' if scope of steel, aluminum tariffs narrows

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that "we will see" if the scope of tariffs on steel and aluminum will narrow, following a news report that President Donald Trump plans to reduce some tariffs on steel and aluminum goods.

Bessent made the remarks in a CNBC interview, after the Financial Times reported on the plan to scale back the metal tariffs, as the Trump administration seeks to address rising affordability issues ahead of the crucial midterm elections set for November.

"We'll see if there's kind of a narrowing ...I don't think it's great reporting that we saw today," the secretary said.

"If anything is done, I think it would be sort of clarification on some incidental objects, but again, that's going to be the president's decision," he added.

He also said that he spoke to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer regarding this issue before the interview.

The Trump administration has imposed 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

It has also added refrigerators, washing machines, dryers and other items to the list of derivatives subject to a 50 percent steel tariff, assessing the duty on those products based on the value of the steel content in each of them.

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