Skip to main content

Trump's Big Announcement On Tariffs To Hit Steel, Aluminum Imports

In yet another major escalation of his trade policy overhaul, US President Donald Trump announced that on Monday the United States will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, which would come on top of additional metal duties-- expected to be disclosed later in the week.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday while he was on his way to the NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans, Trump also said he would announce reciprocal tariffs as early as Tuesday, which would take effect almost immediately.

The Republican, however, did not clarify who would be targeted with the reciprocal tariffs, but he stressed the US would match tariff rates levied by other countries and that this would apply to all countries. "And very simply, it's, if they charge us, we charge them," he said on his reciprocal tariff plan.

During his first White House term from 2016-2020, Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium but l later granted several trading partners duty-free quotas, including Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Former President Joe Biden extended these quotas to Britain, Japan and the European Union, and US steel mill capacity utilization has dropped in recent years.

More Trouble For Canada, Mexico?

Per official data, Canada, Brazil and Mexico are the largest sources of US steel imports, followed by South Korea and Vietnam. Meanwhile, Canada is the largest supplier of primary aluminium metal to the United States by a huge margin,  accounting for 79 per cent of total imports in the first 11 months of 2024. Mexico is a major supplier of aluminium scrap and aluminium alloy.

Matching Rates?

The US President said he would hold a news conference on Tuesday or Wednesday to provide detailed information on the reciprocal tariff plan, adding that he first revealed on Friday that he was planning reciprocal tariffs to ensure "that we're treated evenly with other countries."

Trump has long complained about the EU's 10 per cent tariffs on auto imports being much higher than the American car rate of 2.5 per cent. He frequently states that Europe "won't take our cars" but ships millions west across the Atlantic every year.

The United States, however, enjoys a 25 per cent tariff on pickup trucks, a vital source of profits for Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis' US operations.

The US trade-weighted average tariff rate is about 2.2 per cent, according to World Trade Organization data, compared to 12 per cent for India, 6.7 per cent for Brazil, 5.1 per cent for Vietnam and 2.7 per cent for European Union countries.



from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/XgGq5ia

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Lanka Must Achieve Debt Restructuring By September: IMF

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday reaffirmed that Sri Lanka must achieve its debt restructuring process by September, which is also the time for the global lender's formal review of the bailout facility it extended to the cash-strapped nation. On March 20, IMF extended a nearly $3 billion bailout facility to debt-ridden Sri Lanka that would help stabilise the country's economy after it was jolted by a devastating economic crisis last year. In a statement issued on Tuesday at the end of a nearly two weeks staff visit to Colombo to assess the progress made by Sri Lanka since the agreement was reached, the IMF said the two sides had discussed the developments on debt restructuring. "Sri Lanka must achieve debt restructuring by its first review due in September. We also discussed progress on debt restructuring, noting the ongoing discussions with both foreign and domestic creditors," the statement read. Sri Lanka is still struggling to normalise its crisis-hi...

Released 2 American Hostages On "Humanitarian Grounds": Hamas

Gaza's ruler Hamas said Friday its armed wing has released two American hostages, from around 200 captives abducted in attacks by the militant group in Israel on October 7. "In response to Qatari efforts, (Ezzedine) al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons," Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram. The Islamist group did not detail how or when the hostages were released. The Israeli military said earlier Friday that most of those abducted to Gaza were still alive. "The majority of the hostages are alive. There were also dead bodies that were taken... to the Gaza Strip," an army statement said. The military said more than 20 hostages were minors, while between 10 and 20 were over the age of 60. There are also between 100 and 200 people considered missing since the Hamas attacks, the army added. On October 7, the Palestinian militant group carried out a deadly assault on Israel, the worst in...

Gaza's Rafah Border Crossing Area Hit In Military Strike

The area of the Rafah border crossing between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Egypt was hit Monday in a military strike, AFP correspondents said, as hundreds of Palestinians gathered hoping to cross. The area of the shuttered crossing point in Gaza's south had been hit at least three times last week by Israeli air strikes after Gaza-based Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 that triggered all-out war. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/z9CBc7N