US President Donald Trump has announced his intention to escalate tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum imports, with plans to increase the existing 25% tariff to a staggering 50%.
Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday that the move aims to protect American jobs and steelmaking, while critics say it could lead to higher costs for consumers and manufacturers of products that rely on steel, including automobiles and homes.
“We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50% the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States,” he said.
Trump announced his decision to escalate tariffs during a visit to Pittsburgh, where he was promoting a $14.9 billion agreement between Nippon Steel and US Steel.
Trump claimed that the deal, like the tariff increase, aims to secure employment opportunities for steel workers in the United States.
“There’s never been a $14 billion investment in the history of the steel industry in the United States … Most importantly, US Steel will continue to be controlled by the USA,” he said to a crowd of steelworkers.
Later, he posted on social media that the tariff would be imposed on aluminum as well and both levies will take effect on Wednesday.
According to the US Department of Commerce, with 26.2 million tonnes of imported steel in 2024, after the EU, the US is the largest importer of steel in the world.
Aluminum and steel tariffs were among the first duties put into effect by the Trump administration when he returned to office in January.
The doubling of steel and aluminum levies intensifies Trump’s global trade war. The new tariffs will likely increase aluminum and steel prices across the board, and negatively affect aluminum/steel-dependent industries and consumers alike.
Canada’s Chamber of Commerce quickly denounced the tariff hike as “antithetical to North American economic security.”
Australia’s center-left government also condemned the tariff increase as “unjustified and not the act of a friend.”
“They are an act of economic self-harm that will only hurt consumers and businesses who rely on free and fair trade,” Trade Minister Don Farrell said in a statement.
The announcement came just hours after Trump accused China of violating an agreement with the US to mutually decrease tariffs and trade restrictions for critical minerals.