Trump Orders 25 Percent Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

A worker handles steel cables at a steel factory in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China, on July 3, 2018. -/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump on Feb. 10 imposed 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans on Feb. 9 to attend the Super Bowl, Trump said he would announce a 25-percent levy on “any steel coming into the United States. Aluminum, too.”

The president also said he would announce “reciprocal tariffs” soon. Under this plan, the United States would implement import duties on goods and services when another country imposes tariffs on U.S. products.

“If they are charging us 130 percent, and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” Trump said. “If they charge us, we charge them.”

The tariffs are set to take effect on March 4.

Canada and Mexico are two of the largest aluminum and steel trading partners of the United States. Although the president claimed that the U.S. trade deficit with Canada was $200 billion, the gap was $63.33 billion last year, according to Census Bureau data.

A March 2023 study by the International Trade Commission found that the first Trump administration’s use of Section 232—tariffs imposed on imports considered vital for national security—raised steel and aluminum prices. However, the effect on economic growth and employment was minimal.

Repealing Section 232 would ultimately lead to the creation of more than 4,000 jobs and a long-run gross domestic product growth of 0.02 percent, or $3.5 billion, according to Alex Durante, senior economist at the Tax Foundation.

“Because tariffs are taxes on imports and raise the cost of production, we estimate that repealing the Section 232 tariffs would strengthen the U.S. economy and create jobs,” Durante said in a 2024 paper.

Canada Responds

In a separate pre-taped interview with Fox News released on Feb. 9, Trump said he had not seen enough action from Canada and Mexico to avoid tariffs after agreeing to a 30-day pause.

“No, it’s not good enough,” Trump told host Bret Baier. “Something has to happen. It’s not sustainable. And I’m changing it.”

Last week, the president agreed to a 30-day extension on his initiative to apply a 25-percent levy on all goods from Canada and Mexico. Canadian oil, natural gas, and electricity imports would be taxed at a rate of 10 percent.

Senior Canadian officials, including François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science, and industry, pledged to “stand up for Canada,” its workers, and its industries.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized Trump on social media platform X, writing that he is “shifting goalposts” and inciting “constant chaos.”

François Legault, premier of Quebec, a major aluminum supplier, said on X that it is critical to “begin to renegotiate” Canada’s free trade agreement with the United States “as soon as possible.”

“Quebec exports 2.9 million tons of aluminum to them, or 60 percent of their needs. Do they prefer to get supplies from China?” he wrote.

“We must put an end to this uncertainty.”

Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said the tariffs are a “direct attack” on Canadian workers and the country’s economy.

“These tariffs don’t protect jobs—they kill them. Canada cannot sit idly by while our workers are treated as bargaining chips in Trump’s trade war,” Bruske said. “Our government must respond with strong, immediate action to defend Canadian industries and the workers who keep them running.”

As part of his 2018 Section 232 national security tariff extensions to shield aluminum and steel makers, the president signed trade proclamations that increased tariffs on these products without exemptions or exclusions.

Trump reinstated a 25-percent tariff on millions of steel imports that had previously entered the United States duty-free under exemptions, quota arrangements, and other exclusions. He also raised the levy tariff rate on aluminum imports to 25 percent from the previous 10 percent in 2018.

“This is a big deal—making America rich again,” Trump told reporters.

The latest tariffs are a response to policies that the Trump administration said have permitted various countries—namely Brazil, Canada, China, Russia, and Mexico—to “manipulate trade.”

“Steel and aluminum tariffs 2.0 will ensure that American producers can compete on a level playing field,” a White House official said in a call with reporters.

“These measures will revitalize domestic production and safeguard critical industries.”

Steelmakers, including the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), welcomed the news.

“AISI welcomes President Trump’s continued commitment to a strong American steel industry, which is essential to America’s national security and economic prosperity,” Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of AISI, told The Epoch Times in a statement.

Market Reaction

Although Trump’s first threat of 25-percent tariffs on the United States’ North American trading partners ignited enormous volatility in the financial markets, U.S. stocks were up in the green to kick off the trading week.

The leading benchmark indexes were up by as much as 0.7 percent before the opening bell.

Tom Essaye, president and founder of the Sevens Research Report, said he believes that the U.S. stock market can maintain its gains despite the headwinds.

“Can stocks rally if we keep getting these tariff threats and headlines?” Essaye wrote in a note emailed to The Epoch Times. “The answer, I believe, is ‘yes,’ but it’s going to require nearly universally positive news from the remaining bullish factors in this market.”

The bullish factors are the Federal Reserve’s continuing to cut interest rates, stable economic growth, enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, and hopes for extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“As long as all of them remain a consistent flow of positive headlines, then markets can overcome tariff headlines and volatility to continue to rally,” Essaye said.

Wall Street will have a busy week ahead as investors monitor Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s two-day appearance on Capitol Hill and digest two key inflation reports.