President Donald Trump on Sunday said in another major escalation of his trade policy overhaul would introduce a new 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, in addition to his existing metals operations. I stated.
Trump spoke with Air Force 1 reporters on his way to the NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans and said he would announce a new metal tariff on Monday.
He also announced mutual tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday, which will take effect almost immediately, and apply them to all countries and match the tariff rates collected by each country.
“And, very simply, if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said of mutual tariff plans.
According to data from the government and the US Steel Institute, the largest sources of US steel imports are Canada, Brazil and Mexico, followed by South Korea and Vietnam.
By large margins, hydropower-rich Canada is the largest supplier of primary aluminum metals for the US, accounting for 79% of total imports in the first 11 months of 2024.
“Canadian steel and aluminum support major US industries from defense, shipbuilding and automobiles,” Canadian Minister of Innovation François Philippe Champagne posted on X.
“We will continue to stand up for Canada, workers and industry.”
Trump also said the US government would allow Japanese steel to invest in US steel.
“The tariffs will make it very successful again, and I think it has good management,” Trump said of US steel.
Nippon Steel declined to comment on the latest announcement from Trump.
Quota Questions
During his first term, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum, but later granted tax exemptions to several trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Mexico is a major supplier of aluminum scrap and aluminum alloys.
Former President Joe Biden later negotiated a tax-free allocation arrangement with the UK, the European Union and Japan. It was not immediately clear from Trump's announcement what would happen with those exemptions and allocation arrangements.
“Quebec exports 2.9 million tonnes of aluminum to the US, meaning 60% of its needs. Do they prefer to get supplies from China?” Quebec Prime Minister François Legault said. I said in X.
“All this indicates that we will begin renegotiating our free trade agreement with the US as soon as possible and not wait for the planned review in 2026. This uncertainty must be put to an end.”
Steel mill capacity usage jumped to over 80% in 2019 after Trump's first tariffs, but since then, the global advantage over the Chinese sector has been surged to steel prices. It decreased because it was pushed down. Last year, the Missouri Aluminum Smelter was revived by tariffs with magnitude 7 metals.
Matching rate
Trump said he would hold a press conference on Tuesday or Wednesday to provide further information on mutual tariff plans, and on Friday he said he would “multiple tariffs to ensure that they are being treated equally with other countries.” He added that he has made clear that he is planning to do so.
The new US president has long complained that the EU's 10% tariff on automobile imports is much higher than the US automobile fare 2.5%. He frequently states that Europe “doesn't take our cars” but is shipped to the Atlantic every year by millions of people.
However, the US enjoys a 25% tariff on pickup trucks, a key source of profit for Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis's US operations.
According to World Trade Organization data, the average trade-weighted tariff rate in the US is around 2.2%, with 12% in India, 6.7% in Brazil, 5.1% in Vietnam and 2.7% in European Union countries.
Border Steps
In another Fox News interview, Trump said that actions to secure the US border between Canada and Mexico and halt the flow of drugs and immigration are insufficient ahead of the March 1 tariff deadline. I did.
Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all Mexican and Canadian imports unless the two biggest trading partners in the United States take stronger action.
He suspends tariffs until March 1 after the first border concessions from both countries, with Mexico adding 10,000 national security forces to the border, Canada deploying new technology and personnel, and new He pledged to take anti-fentanyl measures.
When asked if Mexico and Canada's actions were sufficient, Trump replied: “No, that's not enough,” Trump said. “Something has to happen. It's not sustainable, I'm changing it.”
Trump had not said what Canada and Mexico had to do on March 1 to avoid widespread tariffs.
