SCRANTON, Pennsylvania, April 17 (Reuters) - President

Joe Biden is calling on Wednesday for sharply higher U.S.

tariffs on Chinese metal products as part of a package of

policies aimed at pleasing steelworkers in the swing state of

Pennsylvania, at the risk of angering Beijing.

As he makes a campaign stop in the "Steel City" of

Pittsburgh, Biden will propose raising to 25% the tariffs

imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump on certain Chinese steel

and aluminum products, according to an administration official.

The products now being targeted currently face up to a 7.5%

levy under a Trump-era policy under Section 301 of the U.S.

trade law, which Biden launched a review of in 2022. The

proposed higher tariff rate would apply to more than $1 billion

worth of steel and aluminum products, the official said.

The Biden administration is also pressuring neighboring

Mexico to prohibit China from selling its metal products to the

United States indirectly from there.

At the same time, it is launching an investigation into

Chinese trade practices across the shipbuilding, maritime and

logistics sectors, which could lead to more tariffs.

The measures, which are being unveiled as Biden visits the

headquarters of the United Steelworkers union, invite blowback

from China at a time of already heightened tensions between the

world's two biggest economies.

Trump's broader imposition of tariffs during his 2017-2021

presidency prompted China's retaliation with its own levies.

"No trade war," Biden told reporters traveling with him in

Pennsylvania, ahead of his remarks.

Pennsylvania is one of a half-dozen battleground states

likely to decide the November election rematch between Biden and

Trump. The economy ranks among voters' top concerns.

Officials said on Wednesday the intervention was "targeted"

and should not worsen persistently high inflation.

KEY VOTING BLOC

Biden and his Republican opponent have each courted union

leaders and blue-collar workers in faded industrial hubs who

comprise a significant voting bloc in Pennsylvania and Michigan,

another swing state.

The steelworkers union, which sought the measures Biden is

now adopting, endorsed him last month.

Biden handed the union another win when he came out last

month against a proposed $14.9 billion bid by Japan's Nippon

Steel ( NISTF ) to buy U.S. Steel Corp.

Both 2024 candidates have sharply departed from the

free-trade consensus that once reigned in Washington, capped by

China's joining the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Trump, who withdrew from the would-be Trans-Pacific

Partnership trade deal in 2017, has proposed a 10% tariff on all

imports if he returns to office.

China was the seventh-largest exporter of steel to the U.S.

in 2023, with shipments of 598,000 net tons, down 8.2% from

2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by the

American Iron and Steel Institute, an industry trade group.

Canada was the top exporter to the U.S., with 6.9 million

tons, followed by Mexico, with 4.2 million tons.

Domestic steelmakers shipped 89.3 million net tons of steel

in 2023, according to AISI data.

Any new levies on steel and aluminum would be subject to the

approval of Biden's appointed trade representative, Katherine

Tai, at the completion of the review of the Trump-era tariffs.

The new levies would come on top of 25% Section 232 national

security tariffs also imposed by Trump on steel and aluminum

products and product-specific anti-dumping and anti-subsidy

duties that often reach into the triple-digit percentages.

Still, the Can Manufacturers Institute said in a statement

that Biden's proposal "doesn't go far enough" as the industry

faces threats from China.

China's economy grew by a faster-than-expected 5.3% in the

first quarter, data showed on Tuesday, as the country has turned

to exports to shore up growth in the face of protracted weakness

in the property sector and mounting local government debt.

Beijing regards Trump-era tariffs as discriminatory.

Officials said they expected Chinese exports to start

flooding global markets, concerns raised by Biden Treasury

Secretary Janet Yellen on a trip to the country last week.

China exported 25.8 million tons of steel products in the

first quarter, the highest for the period since 2016 and a rise

of 30.7% year on year, Chinese customs data showed.

"China cannot export its way to recovery," Biden's top

economic policymaker, Lael Brainard, told reporters.