Trump To Announce 25% Tariffs On Steel, Aluminium Imports Into U.S.
Sunday Etuka with agency report
President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States, in addition to existing metals duties.
Trump made this known on Sunday in another major escalation of his shake-up of trade policy.
The largest sources of U.S. steel imports are Brazil, Canada and Mexico, followed by South Korea and Vietnam, according to government and American Iron and Steel Institute data.
Trump did not specify which country would be subject to the retaliatory tariffs but said they would not affect all countries.
“Very simply, it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
“If they are charging us 130 percent and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Canada, whose extensive hydropower resources aid its metal production, accounted for 79% of U.S. primary aluminum imports in the first 11 months of 2024.
During his first four-year term from 2017, Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium.
But he later granted several countries exemptions, including Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, and his successor Joe Biden later negotiated duty-free quota deals with Britain, Japan and the EU.
