Washington — President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including those from Canada and Mexico, as well as other import duties later this week.
“Any steel coming into the United States will be subject to a 25% tariff,” he told reporters on Air Force One Sunday as he flew from Florida to New Orleans for the Super Bowl. When asked about aluminum, he replied that “aluminum, too” will be subject to trade penalties.
Trump also reaffirmed that he would announce “reciprocal tariffs” — “probably Tuesday or Wednesday” — which means that the United States would impose import duties on products if another country imposed duties on US goods.
“If they are charging us 130% and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” he told the audience.
Trump’s remarks are the latest indication of his willingness to threaten, and in some cases impose, import taxes. Tariffs will be implemented much earlier in his presidency than during his previous four years in office, when he prioritized tax cuts and regulatory reform.
Trump has said that import taxes are a tool for forcing concessions on issues like immigration, as well as a source of revenue to help close the government’s budget deficit.
Financial markets fell on Friday after Trump first announced the reciprocal tariffs. Stock prices fell as well, following a drop in consumer sentiment on Friday, owing primarily to many respondents citing tariffs as a growing concern. According to the survey, Americans anticipate that the duties will cause inflation to rise in the coming months.
On Sunday, Trump did not provide any information about the steel and aluminum tariffs, or the reciprocal tariffs. Trump had previously threatened 25% import taxes on all goods from Canada and Mexico, but he suspended them for 30 days just a week ago. At the same time, he imposed 10% duties on Chinese imports.
However, on Friday, he announced that he would postpone tariffs on millions of small packages, many of which come from fast-fashion companies like Temu and Shein, until customs officials can figure out how to impose them. The small packages were previously exempt from tariffs.
Some global trading partners expressed immediate concern in response to Trump’s latest remarks.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, convened a meeting with the country’s top foreign policy and trade officials on Monday to discuss how Trump’s proposed steel and aluminum tariffs would affect its industries.
Choi’s office, which also serves as the country’s finance minister, stated that officials discussed the potential impact and Seoul’s potential responses, but no specifics of the meeting were provided.
The stock prices of major South Korean steelmakers, such as POSCO and Hyundai Steel, fell as the market opened on Monday. From January to November last year, South Korea exported approximately $4.8 billion in steel to the United States, accounting for 14% of its total exports of the product during that time period.
