debut: 2/16/17
38,886 runs
Trump imposes sweeping 25% steel and aluminum tariffs.
President Donald Trump imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States Wednesday, a policy aimed at leveling the playing field for US manufacturing but a move that threatens to drive up prices on a broad range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans.Imposing steel and aluminum tariffs poses a risky bet: Although it could give America’s steel and aluminum industries a boost, it will raise prices on a key ingredient for American manufacturers, which could be passed on to consumers. The costs could outweigh the benefit.That’s what happened in Trump’s first term: Although Trump’s 2018 metals tariffs expanded US production modestly, it sent costs rising for cars, tools and machines and shrank those industries’ output by more than $3 billion in 2021, the International Trade Commission found in a 2023 analysis.It could also backfire on the industries it’s designed to protect: Trump’s tariffs could cost 100,000 American jobs, including 20,000 from the aluminum industry, William Oplinger, CEO of Alcoa, one of the largest US aluminum makers, warned last month.
While Trump’s aim is to hurt the Canadian economy by imposing higher steel and aluminum tariffs on them, the move risks hurting the American economy as well.In total, the US imported $31.3 billion worth of iron and steel and $27.4 billion of aluminum last year, according to data from the US Commerce Department. (The government data groups iron and steel together.)Canada was the top source of iron, steel and aluminum sent to the US last year, with the US importing $11.4 billion worth of aluminum and $7.6 billion worth of iron and steel from there.Even before Wednesday, the prospect of higher tariffs on steel and aluminum led to sharp increases in market-traded spot prices for the metals, said Phil Gibbs, an analyst at KeyBanc.
The price of domestic steel is up more than 30% in the last two months, he said, while the domestic price of aluminum has risen about 15%.Trump backed off his threat to double the steel and aluminum tariff rates for Canada after Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to pause surcharges on electricity for US customers.Ford and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced they’d meet Thursday, along with Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, to renegotiate the free trade treaty known as the USMCA.
President Donald Trump imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States Wednesday, a policy aimed at leveling the playing field for US manufacturing but a move that threatens to drive up prices on a broad range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans.Imposing steel and aluminum tariffs poses a risky bet: Although it could give America’s steel and aluminum industries a boost, it will raise prices on a key ingredient for American manufacturers, which could be passed on to consumers. The costs could outweigh the benefit.That’s what happened in Trump’s first term: Although Trump’s 2018 metals tariffs expanded US production modestly, it sent costs rising for cars, tools and machines and shrank those industries’ output by more than $3 billion in 2021, the International Trade Commission found in a 2023 analysis.It could also backfire on the industries it’s designed to protect: Trump’s tariffs could cost 100,000 American jobs, including 20,000 from the aluminum industry, William Oplinger, CEO of Alcoa, one of the largest US aluminum makers, warned last month.
While Trump’s aim is to hurt the Canadian economy by imposing higher steel and aluminum tariffs on them, the move risks hurting the American economy as well.In total, the US imported $31.3 billion worth of iron and steel and $27.4 billion of aluminum last year, according to data from the US Commerce Department. (The government data groups iron and steel together.)Canada was the top source of iron, steel and aluminum sent to the US last year, with the US importing $11.4 billion worth of aluminum and $7.6 billion worth of iron and steel from there.Even before Wednesday, the prospect of higher tariffs on steel and aluminum led to sharp increases in market-traded spot prices for the metals, said Phil Gibbs, an analyst at KeyBanc.
The price of domestic steel is up more than 30% in the last two months, he said, while the domestic price of aluminum has risen about 15%.Trump backed off his threat to double the steel and aluminum tariff rates for Canada after Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to pause surcharges on electricity for US customers.Ford and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced they’d meet Thursday, along with Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, to renegotiate the free trade treaty known as the USMCA.
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