New tariffs on Chinese metals would not affect inflation, White House says

Sharply higher tariffs on Chinese metal products being considered by the Biden administration would not affect U.S. inflation and are necessary for national security, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said on Wednesday.

"If we don't take action, we're putting at risk about one of our most critical sectors -- what the president calls the backbone of the American economy, the bedrock of our national security -- and that's domestic steel production," the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers told CNBC.