Topline
US tariffs on steel and aluminum doubled from 25% to 50% early on Wednesday, in a move that President Donald Trump announced during a rally at a U.S. Steel mill in Pennsylvania last week, claiming the move would “further secure” the country’s steel industry.
Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports rose from 25% to 50% on Wednesday.
In its announcement, the White House described the hike in tariffs as a move to counter “trade practices that undermine national security.”
The announcement said the president was acting to protect the U.S. steel and aluminum industry from harm and accused foreign nations of “flooding” the American market with “cheap steel and aluminum, often subsidized by their governments.”
The tariff rate on steel imported from the U.K. will remain at 25% at least until July 9, but that may change depending on the status of the “U.S.-U.K. Economic Prosperity Deal.”
The White House also said it has started cracking down on “false import declarations” by forcing strict reporting of steel and aluminum content and imposing “tough penalties like fines or loss of import rights for violators.”
After announcing the move, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Our steel and aluminum industries are coming back like never before. This will be yet another BIG jolt of great news for our wonderful steel and aluminum workers.”
Earlier this week, Olaf Gill, the European Commission’s spokesperson on trade said: “We strongly regret the announced increase of steel tariffs from 25% to 50% by the U.S. We believe that this decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses.” Gill said EU trade officials are set to meet their U.S. counterparts on Wednesday and if no resolution is reached “both existing and possibly additional” EU countermeasures will “automatically take effect on July 14th or earlier.” Canada, which is the largest foreign supplier of both steel and aluminum to the U.S., also criticized the move, calling it “unlawful and unjustified.”. A spokesperson from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office told CTV News: “Canada’s new government is engaged in intensive and live negotiations to have these and other tariffs removed as part of a new economic and security partnership with the United States.”