Donald Trump's 25% tariff on all steel, aluminium imports take effect

The decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium imports comes after Trump backtracked on his 50 per cent tariff threat to Canada, just hours after making it

United States President Donald Trump's proposed 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports came into effect on Wednesday. According to an Associated Press report, the US President has promised that the taxes via these tariffs will help create factory jobs in the US. 

 

The move is also set to increase the prices of a wide range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans, according to a CNN report. Earlier in February, Trump removed all exemptions from 2018 tariffs on metals, along with increasing the tariffs on aluminium from 10 per cent. 

 

Ever since Trump took office for the second term, he has been pushing to impose more tariffs on nations in response to their tariffs. While the US already has separate tariffs on nations like Canada, Mexico, and China, it plans to impose tax on imports coming in from the European Union, Brazil, and South Korea starting April 2. 

 

On Tuesday, Trump informed the chief executive officers (CEOs) in a Business Round Table conference that the tariffs were causing companies to invest in US factories. Addressing the group, he said, “The higher it goes, the more likely it is they’re going to build." Further adding, “The biggest win is if they move into our country and produce jobs. That’s a bigger win than the tariffs themselves, but the tariffs are going to be throwing off a lot of money to this country.”

 

Reports suggest that while his tariffs on steel and aluminium could help the plants in the US, they are likely to raise the prices for the manufacturers that use these products as raw materials. 

 

Trump's U-turn on Canada tariffs

Last evening, Trump announced that he was doubling the reciprocal tariff on steel and aluminium imports from Canada to 50 per cent in retaliation to Ontario's 25 per cent surcharge on electricity supply to the US. However, he dialled back hours later after Ontario's provincial government decided to back down.

 

"There's a very strong man in Canada (referring to Ontario Premier Doug Ford) who said he was going to charge a surcharge or a tariff on electricity coming into our country. He has called and he said he's not going to do that. And it would have been a very bad thing if he did. And he's not going to do that, so I respect that," Trump said. 

Uncertainty over India tariff looms

 

Ahead of the April 2 deadline, when Trump is likely to impose reciprocal tariffs on several nations including India, uncertainty over these trade tariff threats continues to loom. On several occasions, Trump accused India of being a "high-tariff nation," a "tariff king." 

 

Recently, he also announced that India had agreed to cut down its tariffs. However, the Indian government has stated that they have 'not committed' to cutting down the import duties.

 

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on Monday told a parliamentary panel that negotiations between India and the US are still on and the two nations have not reached any agreement on trade tariffs so far. He also informed the members that a "tariff war does not help anyone, including the US, and can lead to a recession," a report said.