The United States might have no choice but to resort to "broad-scale" measures to fight the problem of steel dumping should its partners fail to help find a common solution to the problem, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday.
Ross, speaking via live stream to an economic event in Berlin attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel said that even countries that are not direct sources of dumping could face difficulties under these circumstances.
He did not specify what kind of broad-scale measures President Donald Trump would take to tackle overcapacity in the steel sector, a major issue for an administration that says it wants to make U.S. trade ties fairer.
"If President Trump takes action on dumping it will be in the hope of provoking a collective solution by importing nations," Ross told members of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) before his speech was cut off.
A moderator explained that Ross, who had cancelled a planned trip to Germany because of an emergency White House meeting, had gone over the 10-minute slot he was allotted.
