US President Donald Trump said Friday that he would double steel and aluminium import tariffs to 50 percent from next week, the latest salvo in his trade wars aimed at protecting domestic industries.
"We're going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America," he said, while addressing workers at a US Steel plant in Pennsylvania.
"Nobody's going to get around that," he added in the speech before blue-collar workers in the battleground state that helped deliver his election victory last year.
Shortly after, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the elevated rate would also apply to aluminium, with the new tariffs "effective Wednesday, June 4."
Since returning to power in January, Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on allies and adversaries alike in moves that have rocked the world trade order and roiled financial markets.
The tariffs had seen a brief legal setback earlier this week when a court ruled Trump had overstepped his authority, but an appellate court on Thursday said the tariffs could continue while the litigation moves forward.
Trump has also issued sector-specific levies that affect goods such as automobiles.
According to the US International Trade Administration, from March 2024 to February 2025, Brazil was the second-largest exporter of steel to the United States with 3.7 million metric tons, followed by Mexico with 2.9 million. The first is Canada.
Argentina, whose President Javier Milei maintains a close relationship with Trump, was the sixth-largest exporter of aluminum in 2024 to the United States, with more than 176,000 metric tons, according to US data.
The United States imports about half of the steel and aluminium it uses in industries such as automotive, aeronautics, petrochemicals and consumer staples such as canned goods.
Trump defended his trade policies on Friday, arguing that tariffs helped protect US industry.
He added that the steel facility he was speaking in would not exist if he had not also imposed duties on metals imports during his first administration.
On Friday, Trump touted a planned partnership between US Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel, but offered few new details on a deal that earlier faced bipartisan opposition.
He stressed that despite a recently announced planned partnership between the US steelmaker and Nippon Steel, "US Steel will continue to be controlled by the USA." He added that there would be no lay-offs or outsourcing of jobs by the company.
Upon returning to Washington late Friday, Trump told reporters he had yet to approve the deal. "I have to approve the final deal with Nippon, and we haven't seen that final deal yet, but they've made a very big commitment," Trump said.
– TIMES/AFP
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