Washington - The United States will move to impose 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports this week, President Donald Trump said Sunday, the latest in a slew of trade levies he has announced.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the tariffs, which he will announce on Monday, will apply to "any steel coming into the United States," adding this will also affect aluminum.
Trump imposed similar tariffs during his 2017-2021 presidency to protect US industries, which he believed faced unfair competition from Asian and European countries. Canada -- which Trump has already threatened with tariffs -- is the largest source of steel and aluminum imports to the United States, according to US trade data. Brazil, Mexico, and South Korea are also major steel providers in the country.
On Sunday, the Republican billionaire also said he would announce "reciprocal tariffs" to match his government's levies to the rates charged by other countries on US products.
"Every country will be reciprocal," Trump said, adding that he would make a detailed announcement on the tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday. The president has already shown his fondness for weaponizing the United States' financial power, ordering tariffs on key trade partners China, Mexico, and Canada soon after he took office. He paused 25-percent levies against Canada and Mexico for a month after both countries vowed to step up measures to counter flows of the drug fentanyl and the crossing of undocumented migrants into the United States.
The tariffs against China went ahead, however, with products entering the United States facing additional levies of 10 percent since Tuesday. Beijing responded with targeted tariffs on certain US products such as coal and liquefied natural gas, which will come into play on Monday. The new Chinese tariffs cover $14 billion worth of US goods, while the tariffs announced by Trump cover $525 billion worth of Chinese goods, according to
Goldman Sachs.
- 'Golden age' - Trump has also pledged tariffs on the European Union and said that he would soon announce unspecified "reciprocal tariffs." French President Emmanuel Macron vowed in an interview aired Sunday to go head-to-head with Trump over his financial threats to Europe, though he said that the United States should focus its efforts on China rather than the European Union.
Macron also warned on CNN that Americans would feel the effects of any tariffs on Europe, saying they "will increase the costs and create inflation in the US." In an otherwise friendly meeting on Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump warned Tokyo that it could still face tariffs on exported goods if it fails to cut the US trade deficit with Japan to zero.
The trade deficit of the United States -- the world's largest economy -- widened last year to nearly $920 billion. Trump, who has promised a "new golden age" for the United States, has insisted that foreign exporters would bear the impact of any tariffs without being passed on to US consumers, despite most experts saying the contrary.
But he did acknowledge after announcing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China earlier this month that Americans might feel economic "pain." Trump has wielded tariffs as a threat to achieve his wider policy goals, most recently when he said he would slap them on Colombia when it turned back US military planes carrying deported migrants. After a day-long showdown with Trump, the Colombian government backed down.
MEXICO AND CANADA: The two countries were the largest trade partners of the U.S. in 2024 through November, with Mexico ranked first. Trump announced he was imposing 25% duties on imports from Mexico and Canada to go into effect Feb. 4 as retaliation for migration and fentanyl trafficking.
Just before those tariffs were imposed, however, Trump called off the levies, postponing them until March 1 pending negotiations with those two nations. On Sunday, Trump said neither country had done enough to halt the flow of migrants or drugs.
Canada primarily exports crude oil and other energy goods along with cars and car parts as part of the North American auto manufacturing chain. Mexico exports various goods to the U.S. in the industrial and auto sectors.
CHINA: Trump imposed a 10% tariff against China, keeping his promise to put levies on those imports. China announced it would retaliate with levies on some U.S. goods beginning on Monday. In Trump's first term, the two countries engaged in a long trade war that hurt both economies.
EUROPE: Trump said the EU and other countries have troubling trade surpluses with the United States. He has said the countries' products will either be subject to tariffs or he will demand they buy more oil and gas from the U.S., even though U.S. gas export capacity is near its limits.
RUSSIA: Trump has threatened to hit Russia "and other participating countries" with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not struck soon.
INDIA/BRICS NATIONS: During his campaign, Trump called India a "very big abuser" of trade and vowed to use tariffs to correct trade imbalances. He has also threatened the broader BRICS group of nations with tariffs if they did not commit to not creating a new currency.
COLOMBIA: Trump said he would put 25% tariffs on Colombian goods after the country refused to take in flights carrying migrants to be deported from the U.S.; the two sides worked out an agreement.
PRODUCTS
METALS: Trump on Sunday said he was going to put tariffs on imports of all steel and aluminum, used by automakers, aerospace companies, and in construction and infrastructure.
The U.S. is the world's largest aluminum importer, according to World Bank data. It has had a trade deficit in steel for a decade, according to the International Trade Administration. It is the second largest steel importer worldwide, with more than half of those volumes coming from Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
SEMICONDUCTORS: Trump has said he wants to impose tariffs on imported computer chips, pointing to Taiwan, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker, makes semiconductors for Nvidia, Apple and other U.S. clients. TSMC generated 70% of its revenue in 2024 from customers based in North America.
PHARMACEUTICALS: Trump has suggested tariffs on pharmaceutical supplies including medications, which would be a change. Over the last few decades, pharmaceuticals have generally been exempt from tariffs.
AUTOMOBILES: Trump has floated the idea of 100% or greater tariffs on other vehicles, including potentially EVs. The automobile industry accounted for imports of more than $202 billion from Canada and Mexico combined in 2024.
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