President Donald Trump announced on Sunday his plan to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States. This decision was shared with reporters aboard Air Force One, where he stated that any steel entering the country would face the tariff, along with aluminum imports.
Trump further revealed his intention to hold a news conference in the coming days to introduce reciprocal tariffs that could match other countries' levies on US goods on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The president emphasized a strategy of imposing tariffs in response to those imposed on American exports.
Details regarding the extent and timeline of these new tariffs were not fully disclosed. It remains uncertain whether these tariffs will be in addition to existing levies on exports from countries like China. Last week, Trump implemented a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods imported into the US, building upon the tariffs already in place on Chinese products. Notably, tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports have been temporarily suspended until March 1.
Despite the shift away from a manufacturing-focused economy, the US remains a significant consumer of steel, requiring tens of millions of tons annually. This recent announcement echoes Trump's previous actions during his previous administration in 2018 when he imposed 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum. However, these tariffs were later lifted on Mexico and Canada in the subsequent year.
