US President Donald Trump has announced plans to raise tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%, escalating pressure on global steel manufacturers and intensifying his trade conflict.
“We are going to implement a 25% increase. We’re moving from 25% to 50% – the tariffs on steel entering the United States of America, which will further bolster the steel industry domestically,” he stated during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Trump made the announcement regarding the increased tariffs just outside Pittsburgh, where he highlighted an agreement between Nippon Steel and US Steel.
He indicated that the $14.9 billion deal, similar to the tariff increase, aims to preserve jobs for steel workers within the US.
He later shared on social media that the increased tariffs would also apply to aluminum products and would take effect on Wednesday.
Shares of steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Inc shot up by 26% after market close as investors anticipated that the new tariffs would boost profits.
The doubling of the levies on steel and aluminum escalates Mr. Trump’s global trade war and came shortly after he accused China of breaching an agreement with the US regarding mutual tariff and trade reduction for critical minerals.
Canada’s Chamber of Commerce quickly criticized the tariff increase as “contrary to North American economic security”.
“Disentangling the efficient, competitive, and reliable cross-border supply chains we have in steel and aluminum will incur significant costs for both nations,” Candace Laing, president of the chamber, stated.
Australia’s center-left government also condemned the tariff hike as “unjustified and not characteristic of a friend”.
“These measures constitute an act of economic self-harm that will negatively impact consumers and businesses reliant on free and fair trade,” Trade Minister Don Farrell remarked.
The US is the world’s largest steel importer
As a vital US security ally in the Indo-Pacific, Australia would “continue to engage and strongly advocate for the removal of the tariffs,” Mr. Farrell mentioned.
Mr. Trump spoke at US Steel’s Mon Valley Works, a steel plant emblematic of both the former strength and the decline of US manufacturing power as the Rust Belt’s steel mills and factories lost business to overseas competitors.
Closely contested Pennsylvania remains a significant target in presidential elections.
The US is the largest steel importer globally, excluding the European Union, with a projected import of 26.2 million tons in 2024, as per the Department of Commerce.
Consequently, the new tariffs are expected to raise steel prices across the board, impacting both industry and consumers.
Steel and aluminum tariffs were among the first measures enacted by Mr. Trump upon his return to office in January.
The 25% tariffs on most steel and aluminum imported into the US went into effect in March, and although he had briefly considered a 50% levy on Canadian steel, he eventually softened his stance.
Under the so-called Section 232 national security authority, these import duties encompass both raw metals and a wide range of derivative products, including stainless steel sinks, gas stoves, air conditioner evaporator coils, horseshoes, aluminum frying pans, and steel door hinges.
The projected import value for the 289 product categories in 2024 reached $147.3 billion, with nearly two-thirds comprised of aluminum and one-third of steel, as indicated by Census Bureau data accessed through the US International Trade Commission’s Data Web system.
In contrast, Mr. Trump’s initial two rounds of punitive tariffs on Chinese industrial goods in 2018 during his first term totaled $50 billion in annual import value.
