Trump announces immediate 25% steel and aluminum tariffs, starting Monday
President Donald Trump said he will announce on Monday that the United States will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.
The tariffs will apply to “everybody,” including from Canada and Mexico, he said, and import duties will come later in the week.
“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. When asked about aluminum, he responded, “aluminum, too” will be subject to the trade penalties.
Limited details were available Sunday evening.
Trump also reaffirmed that he would announce “reciprocal tariffs” — “probably Tuesday or Wednesday” — meaning that the U.S. would impose import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on U.S. goods.
“If they are charging us 130% and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” he told reporters.
The largest supplier of steel to the United States in 2024 was Canada, followed by Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam, according to reporting from The New York Times. Canada is also a major supplier of aluminum to the United States, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China.
Some American trade groups have praised Trump’s willingness to limit foreign metals imports.
When Trump imposed tariffs in 2018, Alabama politicians weren’t fans. Gov. Kay Ivey said at the time that she had “serious concerns” about the policy’s impact on local automotive, space and manufacturing business.
Trump’s comments are the latest example of his willingness to threaten, and in some cases to impose, import taxes, according to Associated Press reports Sunday evening.
Trump has alternately said he sees import taxes as tools to force concessions on issues such as immigration, but also as a source of revenue to help close the government’s budget deficit.
Financial markets fell on Friday after Trump first said he would impose the reciprocal tariffs. Stock prices also dropped after a measure of consumer sentiment declined on Friday, largely because many respondents cited tariffs as a growing worry. The survey also found that Americans are expecting inflation to tick up in the coming months because of the duties.
Trump on Sunday did not offer any details about the steel and aluminum duties, or the reciprocal tariffs. Trump previously threatened 25% import taxes on all goods from Canada and Mexico, though he paused them for 30 days barely a week ago. At the same time, he proceeded to add 10% duties on imports from China.
Yet on Friday, he said he would also delay the tariffs on the millions of small packages — often from fast-fashion firms such as Temu and Shein — until customs officials can figure out ways to impose them. The small packages have previously been exempt from tariffs.
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