President Donald Trump of the United States of America has announced plans on Friday to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, raising the rate from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. The move significantly escalates his administration’s global trade offensive and is likely to spark renewed tensions with key allies and trading partners.
Speaking at a rally near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump said the decision would strengthen the domestic steel industry and protect American jobs.
“We are going to be imposing a 25 per cent increase. We’re going to bring from 25 cent to 50 per cent the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will further secure the steel industry in the United States,” Trump told supporters at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works is a plant symbolic of the region’s industrial past and present political battleground status.
He also confirmed via social media that the higher tariffs will apply to aluminium products and take effect on Wednesday.
The announcement coincided with Trump promoting a $14.9 billion acquisition deal between Nippon Steel and U.S.steel. The agreement he claimed, like the tariffs, would help preserve American steel worker jobs.
Investors reacted swiftly. Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a major U.S. steel producer, surged 26% in after-hours trading on expectations that the new tariffs would boost domestic profits.
But the decision drew immediate international criticism. Canada’s Chamber of Commerce called the move “antithetical to North American economic security,” warning that disrupting established cross-border supply chains would hurt both countries.
Australia also condemned the measure. Trade Minister Don Farrell labelled the tariffs “unjustified and not the act of a friend,” adding they amount to “economic self-harm” that would harm consumers and businesses.
The United States imported 26.2 million tons of steel in 2024, making it the world’s largest importer outside the European Union, according to the U.S.
Department of Commerce. Analysts warn the tariff hike could drive up prices industry-wide, impacting manufacturers and consumers alike.
Recall that Trump originally imposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports shortly after returning to office in January, invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act on national security grounds. That law allows the government to impose trade barriers on products deemed essential to national defence.
The expanded levies will apply to 289 product categories, including not only raw steel and aluminium but also items like gas ranges, aluminium frying pans, air conditioner coils, horseshoes, and steel door hinges. Imports in these categories were valued at $147.3 billion in 2024, with roughly two-thirds related to aluminium and one-third to steel, according to Census Bureau data.
The timing of the move also coincided with a broader escalation in trade tensions, as Trump earlier in the day accused China of breaching a prior agreement to reduce restrictions on critical minerals.
The tariff increase marks one of the most aggressive trade actions of Trump’s current term, echoing the early stages of his first administration’s trade wars. In 2018, his tariffs on Chinese industrial goods totalled $50 billion in annual import value a figure now dwarfed by the scope of the new steel and aluminium duties.
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