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President Donald Trump said he plans to impose 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum, broadening his trade salvos and threatening ties with some of America’s top trading partners.
Trump, speaking to reporters Sunday on Air Force One, said the tariffs would apply to imports of the metals from all countries. Asked whether Mexico and Canada would be included, he said the levies would cover “everybody.” He didn’t specify when the duties would take effect.
The president also said he would announce reciprocal tariffs this week on countries that tax US imports. Those would go into effect “almost immediately” after an announcement, Trump said, without providing further detail.
The moves are Trump’s latest in a series of threatened tariffs on countries and specific sectors. Yet it’s also uncertain whether Trump will follow through — he already announced, then paused, tariffs on Canada and Mexico, while proceeding with levies on China.
The US relies on aluminum imports, mostly from Canada, the United Arab Emirates and China, to meet the vast majority of its demand. Steel imports account for a smaller portion of consumption, but are vital for sectors leaning on specialty grades not made in the US, including energy businesses from wind developers to oil drillers.
In early Monday trade in Asia, metals markets were steady after Trump’s announcement. Benchmark prices for iron ore, a key ingredient in steelmaking, were up less than 1% in Singapore at around 9 a.m. local time, while three-month aluminum futures edged higher on the London Metal Exchange. US futures on Comex added 0.4%, in very light trade.
“This round of 25% tariff on steel is definitely bearish on the market’s sentiment for ferrous commodities. It could take 2-3 days for the market to digest with price weakening,” said Mengtian Jiang, analyst at consultancy Horizon Insights. “However, steel export to US only composed less than one percent of China’s total export.”
Canada, Mexico, Brazil and South Korea are the top US’s top overseas steel suppliers.
Many steel and aluminum buyers and sellers had expected they would have at least until March to prepare for any tariff implementation. Some oil companies won exclusions from tariffs on the metal during Trump’s first term.
Trump didn’t clarify whether or not imports of metal from China would face double tariffs, given he has already imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
Beijing has announced retaliatory measures that are scheduled to take effect Monday. Those were more calibrated in scope, targeting only imported goods from the US valued at $14 billion in 2024.
Tariff Ambitions
The scale of Trump’s overall tariff ambitions remain unclear. His willingness to reverse course on occasion has reinforced the perception that the new president is using tariffs primarily as a negotiating tool.
Trump delayed tariffs he threatened to impose on imports from Mexico and Canada to March after they offered modest proposals to increase security at the borders.
He has said he would impose duties on goods including pharmaceuticals, oil and semiconductors and said he’s considering import duties on the European Union.
Yet he has also alternated between tough talk against Beijing and signals that he wants to work with China’s Xi Jinping as he seeks more balanced trade. The US president has ordered an agreement he signed in 2020, known as the Phase One deal, to be reevaluated, suggesting tariff talks with China could drag on.
The president has embraced tariffs as a centerpiece of his bid to remake the US economy, shrink trade deficits and find new sources of revenue to help deliver on his tax agenda. The moves though threaten to wreak economic havoc, with economists saying the levies will raise costs for US manufacturers who import goods, raise prices for consumers already weary from inflation, reduce trade flows and fail to bring in the revenue Trump has predicted.
The Trump administration and allies say border security measures promised by Mexico and Canada are a win for the president’s approach.
“We’ve seen a lot of pearl clutching when this was announced, but we’ve also seem immediate results from Mexico and Canada,” Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s trade advisers, said at an interview event last week hosted by Politico.
The announcement comes as the US steel industry is looking to recover from its worst year since Trump’s first term in office. The domestic steelmakers have complained that a renewed uptick in imports has hurt their profits and production numbers.
Steel and aluminum were among Trump’s earliest tariffs during his first term, implementing a 25% duty on steel and a 10% duty on aluminum in 2018 on grounds of national security.
The steel tariffs also come amid a stalled deal by Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to buy US Steel Corp. for $14.1 billion. The transaction was blocked by former President Joe Biden and is also opposed by Trump.
On Friday, however, after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump that Nippon Steel is now considering investing in US Steel instead of purchasing the company outright. Trump told reporters on Sunday that Nippon Steel cannot have a majority stake in the US firm.
“I don’t want US Steel being owned by a foreign country,” Trump said. “All they can have is an investment.”
The two companies are challenging the US block on the deal in court.
–With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Joe Deaux.
