KUALA LUMPUR – US President Donald Trump has announced a major hike in tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, doubling the current rate from 25% to 50%.
The move, which takes effect on Wednesday, is aimed at further shielding American manufacturers and workers from foreign competition, according to Trump.
“We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50%… which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody’s going to get around that,” he was reported as saying during a rally at a US Steel facility in Pittsburgh.
He argued that foreign competitors had exploited loopholes under the existing tariff regime.
“At 25%, they can sort of get over that fence. At 50%, they can no longer get over the fence,” he said, calling “tariff” the “most beautiful word in the dictionary”.
The rally was held to promote what Trump described as a “blockbuster agreement” between US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. The companies have not confirmed the deal, but Trump claimed it would inject billions into US production.
“As part of this monumental commitment, Nippon will invest US$2.2 billion to increase steel production here in Mon Valley Works,” he said.
“Another US$7 billion to modernise steel mills, expand ore mines, and build state-of-the-art facilities in Indiana, Minnesota, Alabama, and Arkansas. It will create and save over 100,000 American jobs.”
The US$14.9 billion deal between US Steel and Nippon Steel, along with the tariff hike, is being positioned by Trump as a strategy to preserve American jobs and reduce reliance on imports, particularly from China.
The announcement came just hours after Trump accused Beijing of breaching a mutual agreement to ease tariffs and trade restrictions on critical minerals, further fuelling his ongoing global trade war.
The US remains the world’s largest steel importer, excluding the EU, with 26.2 million tonnes imported in 2024, according to the Commerce Department. The new tariffs are expected to drive up domestic steel prices, impacting both industry and consumers.
Steel and aluminium levies were among the first trade measures Trump reinstated upon returning to office in January. The original 25% tariffs were implemented in March under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, citing national security grounds. The measures cover both raw metals and derivative goods, including door hinges, gas ranges, frying pans, and horseshoes.
According to Census Bureau data, the 2024 import value of 289 tariff-affected product categories totalled US$147.3 billion, with nearly two-thirds being aluminium and the rest steel.
The announcement comes amid a court battle over the legality of some of Trump’s global tariffs. Although the Court of International Trade had previously ordered a halt to those taxes, an appeals court has allowed the administration to continue imposing them.
The tariffs on steel and aluminium, however, are not affected by the suit. – May 31, 2025