Trump announces 50% increase in steel and aluminum tariffs!
During a rally at a steel mill, the US president announced that he would raise tariffs on steel imports from 25 to 50 percent. He later announced the same for aluminum. The measure, which would hit Europe hard, is supposed to take effect on June 4, Trump said.
Donald Trump announced Friday at a rally for steelworkers in Pennsylvania that he would double tariffs on steel imports to 50 percent, a move that could worsen the ongoing trade war with the EU, China and the rest of the world. The US president said doubling the taxes on imported steel would "further strengthen the steel industry in the United States."
In a post later published on his Truth Social platform, the US president added that tariffs on aluminum would also increase from 25 percent to 50 percent. Trump said both increases would take effect on Wednesday, June 4. The announcement comes after days of confusion in which the judiciary delivered conflicting rulings on Trump's tariff policy, initially blocking it with a ruling by the US Court of International Trade and finally giving it the green light again, pending a new ruling by a federal appeals court.
Investments coming from Japan
Trump spoke Friday at U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works-Irvin plant in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he also discussed details of a deal being finalized for investment by Japan's Nippon Steel in the iconic American steel plant. However, Trump clarified to reporters upon his return to Washington that he has not yet approved the deal. "I have to approve the final agreement with Nippon and we haven't seen the final agreement yet, but they've made a very big commitment and it's a very big investment," he said.
Although Trump initially promised to block the Japanese steelmaker's bid to buy U.S. Steel, he reversed course and last week announced a deal for a partial sale to Nippon Steel. The Japanese company never claimed to have changed its previous offer to buy and fully control U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion, although it increased the amount it promised to invest in U.S. factories and guaranteed that it would not lay off anyone.
"We are here today to celebrate an extraordinary deal that will ensure that this historic American company remains an American company," Trump said during a rally at one of the US Steel warehouses, "you are going to remain an American company, you know that, right?" The United Steelworkers union said it was deeply concerned "about the impact that this merger of US Steel with a foreign competitor will have on national security, our members and the communities where we live and work."
According to the government's producer price index, steel prices have risen 16 percent since Trump became president in mid-January. As of March 2025, steel cost $984 per metric ton in the U.S., far more than the price in Europe ($690) or China ($392), according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
Among the partners most affected by the potential increase in duties on these materials are the EU, which had just received a postponement in July of the increase in general duties on exports to the US, and Canada. "The disruption of efficient, competitive and reliable cross-border supply chains like we have in steel and aluminum comes at a high cost to both countries," said Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Last year, the U.S. produced about three times as much steel as it imported, with Canada, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea the top sources of imports. Analysts have credited tariffs dating back to Trump’s first term with helping to bolster the domestic steel industry. The fate of U.S. Steel, once the world’s largest steel company, could weigh in on the Republican midterm elections in the always-crucial state of Pennsylvania and others that depend on the steelmaking.
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