USA: Trump announces doubling of steel tariffs to 50 percent

Washington. US President Donald Trump wants to double tariffs on steel imports into the United States from the current 25 percent to 50 percent of the value of the goods. The additional fees on imports would strengthen the US steel industry, Trump said in a speech to employees at a steel plant in Pennsylvania. The Republican emphasized that "tariffs" is his absolute favorite word.

Shortly afterwards, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that tariffs on aluminum would also be doubled to 50 percent. The new rates are to take effect as early as next Wednesday (June 4).

The US government formally justifies the current tariffs on steel imports – just like those on aluminum and cars – with the protection of national security.

Importing steel products into the US is likely to become more difficult with the doubling of tariffs – and the price of steel in the US is likely to rise in the medium term. Steel is used by industries, such as automobile production, and construction.

As of 2024, the United States was the world's largest steel importer, second only to the EU. According to the US government, the most important countries of origin for imported steel products are Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. Germany is also among the ten largest exporters to the United States.

According to the German steel industry association Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl, the USA is the most important sales market for the European steel industry. Around four million tons were exported to the USA from the entire EU in 2023. Germany alone accounts for around one million tons annually, mostly specialty steel. This makes Germany the largest steel producer in the EU.

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The US imports aluminum primarily from Canada, the United Arab Emirates, China, and South Korea. Germany ranked only 16th among the most important countries of origin in 2024—with relatively small quantities.

It wasn't immediately clear whether there would be exceptions to the increased tariffs—for example, for Canada and Mexico, with which the US forms a North American free trade zone. There were no exceptions to the original 25 percent tariffs imposed in February.

Trump has already announced, threatened, or implemented numerous other tariffs. In addition to a new punitive levy of ten percent of the value of goods on almost all imports, he has also announced specific, higher tariffs on imports from many countries. These also affect major trading partners such as China and the European Union.

Various lawsuits are currently underway regarding the legality of many tariffs, in which no final decisions have yet been made. These include import duties invoked under an emergency measure to reduce the US trade deficit. These include most of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration – including the punitive tariffs the Republican announced on what he called "Liberation Day" in early April, as well as certain tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.

A U.S. Court of International Trade found these tariffs illegal on Wednesday and ordered their swift reversal. An appeals court, appealed by the government, then allowed the tariffs to continue on Thursday, but has not yet ruled on the matter. The additional duties on steel imports are not affected by the legal dispute.

Trump has already made it clear that, if necessary, he will take the dispute over the tariffs all the way to the Supreme Court in Washington. During his first term, the president has shifted the majority of the court's nine justices far to the right with several replacements. But even the conservative justices don't always rule in his favor.

The threat of new tariffs on certain trading partners is likely sometimes just a negotiating tactic for Trump to negotiate the best possible "deal," i.e., to obtain concessions from his trading partners. Many of the trading partners he has imposed new tariffs on, including the European Union, are already negotiating with the US to avoid new tariffs. In the case of the EU, Trump has recently suspended threatened additional tariffs of 50 percent of the value of imported goods until the beginning of July to allow more time for negotiations.

RND/dpa