Trump threatens sweeping tariffs on key metal imports
US President Donald Trump has threatened to hike tariffs on key metal imports. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he planned to place new 25% levies on all steel and aluminum brought into the country, with more details to be revealed on Monday.
“Any steel coming into the US is going to have a 25% tariff,” the US president stated, adding that aluminum will also be included and that the new measure would affect “everybody.” The new tariffs will come on top of US existing metals duties, Trump indicated.
The US is one of the largest consumers of steel and the second biggest steel importer in the world. It sources the metal globally, although its largest suppliers are Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, followed by South Korea and Vietnam, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Canada is also the largest supplier of US aluminum, roughly half of which is imported. Mexico is among key US suppliers of aluminum scrap and alloy.
During Trump’s first term in office, he introduced 25% tariffs on US steel imports and 10% on aluminum, although he later granted tariff-free quotas to key trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.
Trump’s metals tariffs announcement has already been met with outrage in Canada, where Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford accused the US president of “shifting goalposts and constant chaos” and putting Canada’s economy at risk.
Trump has been on a tariff spree since his inauguration last month, placing 25% levies on all imports from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China, citing concerns over illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
Following discussions with Mexican and Canadian leaders, Trump later postponed the levies for 30 days while the countries work on enhancing border protections. On Friday, he also halted a key element of tariffs imposed on China, temporarily retaining the longstanding duty-free status of small-value packages, after his tariff move sparked chaos with deliveries.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump warned the tariffs could soon become much more widespread. He reaffirmed his earlier pledge to place “reciprocal tariffs” on American trade partners, which will apply to all countries the US trades with to match the tariff rates levied by each nation.
“If they are charging us 130% and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” Trump stated, adding that he will unveil more details “probably Tuesday or Wednesday,” with the new duties to be imposed “almost immediately.”
