Katherine BiekTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly asked President Donald Trump to exempt Canada from steel and aluminum tariffs during a trade meeting Tuesday.
Multiple sources told ABC that Mnuchin argued Canada deserves to be exempted because the U.S. has a $2 billion steel surplus with the country and a nearly $26 billion services surplus.
The Trump administration announced in late May that it would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
The U.S. allies had been given a temporary exemption when Trump first announced the tariffs in March.
Over the weekend, Mnuchin was in Canada for the G7 finance ministers summit, where the other top officials criticized the tariff move by the Trump administration.
It's unclear if Trump is on board with Mnuchin's reported request. One unnamed senior administration official told ABC, "[Trump's] still deciding on what to do about Canada."
