Feb. 9 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said on Monday he will announce 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum coming into the United States.
“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One. “Aluminum, too, … 25%.
The announcement came after Trump on Friday said he will introduce so-called reciprocal tariffs on several countries this week, “so that we’re treated evenly.”
Speaking to reporters Sunday, he explained: “Very simply, if they charge us, we charge them.”
Those reciprocal tariffs will be announced Tuesday, he said.
Trump did not offer further details on the so-called reciprocal tariffs, nor did he clarify if the 25% aluminum and steel tariffs were part of them.
The New York real estate mogul frequently turns to tariffs as a potential solution to right what he sees as trade imbalances with other countries. The move, however, if followed through with, often attract retaliatory tariffs.
Earlier this month, a one-month pause on issuing 25% tariffs on both Canada and Mexico was announced. Trump said the tariffs would be issued in response to drugs making their way from those countries into the United States.
Both countries have threatened to hit the United States with retaliatory tariffs if Trump follows through with his economic measures, while offering border compromises. Mexico said it would deploy 10,000 soldiers to its northern border with the United States, while Canada emphasized the border actions it was already taking and stated it would appoint a so-called border czar.
A 10% tariff that Trump placed on China earlier this month was met with wide-ranging retaliatory economic measures, including tariffs on dozens of U.S. products and an anti-monopoly investigation into Google.
During his first term, Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum.
The announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminum could have a negative affect the stock market, as U.S. consumer sentiment has already declined this month amid fears over the impact of Trump’s economic moves on major U.S. trading partners.
