NHK has learned that the US government has told Japan that it will partially remove additional tariffs on steel imports from Japan, but keep them in place for aluminum.

The administration of former US president Donald Trump imposed the measures in 2018. It set extra levies of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

At the time, the White House cited a security threat, with imports from China in mind.

Sources say the United States is considering the introduction of a tariff-rate quota system that would remove additional duties on certain volumes of steel imports from Japan.

Japan plans to continue urging Washington to eliminate the extra tariffs on both steel and aluminum.

The US decided from January not to apply the additional duties on certain amounts of steel and aluminum from the European Union.