President Donald Trump is 25% on all steel and aluminum imports in his latest push to restructure international trading orders that he claims are unfairly stacked against US manufacturers and workers. slapped the tariffs.
Speaking from the White House when he announced his latest trade salvo on Monday, Trump said the US industry is “also potential by both friends and enemies.”
“Our country needs to be made in the US, not in the foreign country, before Trump signed an executive order to end the exemptions of various countries and products from the first administration’s tariffs on steel. , we need to create to protect the future of our country.”
“It’s time for our great industry to return to America. I want them back to America. This is the first of many.”
Trump said the tariffs he floated on Sunday would apply to all countries with “no exemptions, no exceptions.”
“This is a big deal,” Trump said. “This is the beginning to enrich America once again.”
Trump’s latest tariffs, due to take effect on March 12, are almost certain to encourage retaliatory moves from affected countries, including some of Washington’s closest allies.
“Trump’s latest tariffs on steel and aluminum aren’t enough in themselves to spark a full-scale trade war, but it’s definitely a progressive move in that direction,” says global business advisory firm. Gabriel Wildo, Senior Vice President of Teneo, told Al Jazeera. .
“While US trading partners in Europe and Asia are virtually certain to retaliate, this retaliation could take the form of comparable, narrow-sector tariffs.”
The US imported about $49 billion worth of steel and aluminum in 2024, according to government data.
Canada is the largest supplier of steel, followed by Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Germany and Japan, according to the US International Trade Agency.
Canada was also the largest exporter of aluminum, and it also had other major suppliers, including the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and China.
Trump’s announcement spurred almost immediate backlash in Canada.
“Trump wants us to lose cool. In X’s post, Mark Carney, the frontrunner to replace Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the leader of the liberal party, said in X’s post. Ta.
“In the short term, Canada will need to manage the threat of foreign trade with tariffs for the dollar and with the support of key steel and aluminum workers.”
In Asia, the market has mostly responded negatively to the news, with benchmark indexes falling in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila, while Seoul’s Kospi has profited.
The South Korean Development Institute, funded by South Korea on Tuesday, fell 0.4 percentage points from previous estimates, citing concerns about the impact of Trump’s tariffs, reducing its 2025 growth forecast by 1.6%.
“Most of Asia is concerned about the impact of Trump’s tariffs. As these are one-sided, ad hoc and lead to retaliation, Amitendu Paritt, a senior researcher at the Institute for South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, said. Several Asian economies exporting to the West will be worried about their competitiveness and market access, told Al Jazeera.
“The impact will be destructive,” Paritt added. “Apart from bringing in new procedures for trade invoices and customs management, it will cause difficulties in the supply chain.”
Trump has also announced this week that he will also announce mutual tariffs on countries that tax US goods without specifying which countries will be affected.
These will come above Trump’s announcement of a 10% tariff on all Chinese products that came into effect last week, as well as a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports. Address the security of your own shared borders.
Economists warn that Trump’s widespread tariffs could lead to rising prices for U.S. consumers, leading to risks that trigger an escalating spiral in trade disputes that could undermine global growth.
Trump and his allies argue that taxation will help boost domestic manufacturing revival and state funding.
The Tax Foundation, a Washington, DC-based think tank, estimates Trump’s tariffs in 2018 and 2019 resulted in a 0.2% drop in gross domestic product (GDP).
Michael Stanite, a trade expert at American University in Washington, D.C., said the impact of Trump’s tariffs will be “very serious.”
“Unless the Trump administration offers numerous exemptions to US steel and aluminum importers, US consumers can expect an increase in price and production shortages, especially in areas like the US automotive industry.
“Suppose US producers and consumers don’t want to absorb the costs of tariffs, the best way for foreign producers to allocate resources to absorb the excess global supply of steel and aluminum brought about by foreign producers We witness a challenging transition in the global economy to determine. By reducing US demand.”
Trump previously announced 25 tariffs on steel from most countries and 10% of aluminum imports during his first administration in 2018.
Initially, after exempting hosts from US allies and friendly countries, Trump expanded tariffs to the European Union, Canada and Mexico later that year.
In 2019, the US President signed contracts with Canada, Mexico, Australia and Argentina, exempting exports from tariffs.
“Looking back at the first Trump administration, similar Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum tariffs, ostensibly justified by national security, are the broader Section 301 tariffs justified by intellectual property complaints. It was a prerequisite,” Wildow said.
“This time, it is still unclear whether these relatively narrow tariffs are a precursor to what will come, or simply a self-contained skirmish. By April 1, we will assess the cause of the US trade deficit. The results of the Trump administration’s interagency review provide an important indication of whether broader tariffs are coming.”
Despite claiming there is no exemption from tariffs on Monday, Trump made “big consideration” to exclude Australia from the measure after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had previously discussed the exemption. He said he would give it.
“We have a surplus in Australia, one of the few,” Trump said. “And the reason is that they buy a lot of planes.”
Stanatis, a professor at American University, said Trump’s latest tariffs will cause “many anxiety and tension” among US trading partners.
“It’s similar to the tension that stemmed from Trump’s threat of imposing a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, but it has a broader impact,” Stanatis said.
“Souths like Canada and Mexico have tried to appease Trump in response to narrower tariffs that apply specifically to these countries, but these broad tariffs have led to trade liberalization between US trading partners. I think we can drive movement.”
Source link
