(WKBN) – Congressman Tim Ryan held a virtual press conference to make his position clear on maintaining trade tariffs on China and urging the Biden administration to do so.

Last week, Ryan sent a letter to President Joe Biden, who strongly urged against the cuts currently being considered by the administration.

“I have long opposed China getting away with policies that discriminate against American exports and contribute to the reduction of jobs, manufacturing and innovation in the United States. We cannot continue to allow Chinese practices that cripple our workforce by allowing Chinese-made products to flood our markets,” Ryan said in the letter.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Ryan said waiving the tariffs would be a big mistake and that he supported former President Donald Trump when he enacted the tariffs. He also said he understands the inflation problem, but says there is no evidence that lifting tariffs will help.

“I understand people getting hammered in the wallet – it’s real, it’s important and it’s very painful for a lot of families and we understand that. But, there is no real evidence that lifting these tariffs will impact inflationary pressures,” he said.

According to Politico, last week the president told cabinet members that he was leaning towards lifting some of Trump’s tariffs on China.

“I’m going to oppose this administration on this issue and I think they’re getting a lot of bad information about the inflationary impact this will have,” he said.

Asked about comments he made criticizing the 2018-2020 tariffs, Ryan says he has always stood with industry and workers on this issue and his record is clear that he supports the tariffs.

“How many trips have I made to Wheatland Tube or Vallourec or steel companies in our community to support them, to support the businesses and the workers there?” said Ryan.

Ryan was also asked whether or not he thought his stance sacrificed climate goals, to which he said relying on China for manufacturing was disastrous.

“They have the dirtiest steel in the world, they have the dirtiest production in the world, they still dump a lot of stuff in their rivers, they have all kinds of environmental and health issues because of it,” Ryan said. .