Trump Imposes 25% Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States with no exceptions or exemptions.

Steel and aluminum are key components of goods.

Although the US gets most of its steel from Canada, Brazil and Mexico, the tariffs are largely — albeit indirectly — aimed at China, Alejandra Jaramillo, Chris Isidore and David Goldman reported for CNN.

“This is a big deal — making America rich again,” Trump said in announcing the tariffs, according to a pool report.

The US imports very little steel directly from China, by far the world’s largest producer of steel.

Steel tariffs of 25% launched in Trump’s first administration and continued by former President Joe Biden resulted in American importers shifting to other sources.

Yet Chinese steel does make its way into the US secondhand. Some is purchased by foreign countries and reshipped to the US, and some is mislabeled and resold through various channels.

The US is not the manufacturing-focused economy it once was, but it still consumes tens of millions of tons of steel and aluminum a year.

Steel is a key component of everything from consumer goods such as cars and appliances to large-scale infrastructure projects, such as skyscrapers, oil rigs and pipelines, bridges, and roads.

Aluminum is also a key component of goods such as food and beverage cans, cars and commercial jets, as well as infrastructure including high-power electrical lines.