WASHINGTON — The Biden administration reached a deal to partly lift tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed on Japanese steel, agreeing to scale back levies that had rankled both the Japanese government and American manufacturers that use imported metal.
The agreement, which U.S. trade officials announced on Monday, will maintain some protections for American metal makers by transforming the current 25 percent tariff on Japanese steel into a so-called tariff-rate quota, an arrangement in which higher levels of imports are met with higher duties. Up to 1.25 million metric tons of Japanese steel will be allowed to come into the country duty-free each year, with volumes above that level subject to a 25 percent tariff.
That level is the average of Japanese steel exports to the United States in 2018 and 2019, a Biden administration official said. The arrangement is set to take effect April 1.
The deal will place restrictions on…
