Biden Calls for Steel Tariff Hike

US President Joe Biden called for a hike in steel tariffs on "cheating" China as he courted blue-collar voters on an election campaign trip to the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

"I stand by you, the American steel worker," Biden said to cheers as he unveiled the latest in a series of protectionist measures in a speech to the United Steelworkers union in Pittsburgh.

Democrat Biden was on the second day of a three-day swing through Pennsylvania as he competed with Republican rival Donald Trump for working- and middle-class votes ahead of November's election.

Biden, who narrowly won Pennsylvania from Trump in 2020 and has made more campaign visits there than in any other state, called for a tripling in tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum imports.

"China's steel companies don't need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily," the 81-year-old Biden said.

"They're not competing, they're cheating. They're cheating and we've seen the damage here in America."

Biden won the coveted backing last month of the union, and has opposed a bid by Japan's Nippon Steel to take over the Pittsburgh-based firm US Steel in a further attempt to woo the union.

He repeated his vow to torpedo the Japanese takeover of the "iconic American company".

"American-owned, American-operated by American union steelworkers, the best in the world -- and that's going to happen, I promise," he said.

Beijing reacted furiously after Washington said it was also launching a probe into Chinese shipbuilding following a complaint by unions, including United Steelworkers.

Biden insisted, however, that he was not seeking a showdown with China.

Despite huge differences with election rival Trump on everything from tax to abortion, Biden's trade policies have increasingly echoed elements of his rival's "America First."