All steel and aluminum imports into the US will now face a sweeping levy of 25%. Canada, Mexico, Brazil and South Korea would be among the countries most heavily affected by the move.
President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports came into effect on Wednesday as the United States widened its scope of levies amid a campaign to reorder trade norms in its favor.
The 25% duties on the two metals would likely push up the cost of producing items ranging from drink cans, home appliances to automobiles, leaving a looming threat of a rise in consumer prices in due course.
Also on Wednesday, the European Union announced “countermeasures” against some US goods in a tit-for-tat move against the steel and aluminum tariffs.
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Trump backtracks on threat to Canada
Ahead of the tariff deadline on Tuesday, Trump threatened Canada with doubling the duty to 50% on steel and aluminum exports to the US.
The president later chose to stick to the 25% rate after the Canadian province of Ontario suspended a decision to put a surcharge on electricity sold to the American states of Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
The electricity surcharge was a retaliation to earlier US levies.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would visit Washington on Thursday with Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc for discussions with Trump officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, on revising the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade.
The USMCA was signed during Trump’s first term in office and replaced the previous NAFTA agreement.
The new levies imposed Wednesday will stack on top of earlier ones, meaning that some steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico will likely see a 50% tariff rate unless they are compliant with the USMCA.
Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the US.
Brazil and Mexico are also important US suppliers of steel, while the United Arab Emirates and South Korea are among key providers of aluminum.
American steel producers hail move
US steel producers welcomed Wednesday’s move, hailing the restoration of Trump’s prior metal tariffs in 2018 which were later eroded by exemptions.
Canada and Mexico had avoided the import duties on the metals after they agreed to Trump’s demand for a revamped North American trade deal in 2020.
Other trading partners of the US had import quotas supplant the tariffs. There were also thousands of product-specific exclusions.
“By closing loopholes in the tariff that have been exploited for years, President Trump will again supercharge a steel industry that stands ready to rebuild America,” Philip Bell, the president of Steel Manufacturers Association, said.
“The revised tariff will ensure that steelmakers in America can continue to create new high-paying jobs and make greater investments knowing that they will not be undercut by unfair trade practices,” he added.
Wall Street indexes fell for a second straight day on Tuesday as Trump’s volatile trade plans have triggered concerns that they could steer the world’s biggest economy toward a recession.
The US President dismissed the losses on Wall Street, saying that he does not see the possibility of an economic downturn.
