The US will begin to apply additional 25% duties on all steel and aluminum imports starting next month
US President Donald Trump has placed sweeping tariffs on key imports of metals. The new 25% duties on all steel and aluminum brought into the US will begin next month.
The move comes despite warnings of potential retaliation from Canada and Mexico – major exporters of the metals to the US.
“This is a big deal, this is the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump said on Monday evening as he announced the tariffs, which will apply without “exceptions or exemptions to all countries no matter where it comes from.”
The US is one of the world’s largest importers of metals. Its main suppliers are Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Vietnam. US imports of iron and steel amounted to $32.99 billion in 2024, and purchases of aluminum totaled $28.31 billion, according to the UN database on international trade.
During his first term as president, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on purchases of aluminum. Later, his administration granted tariff-free quotas to key US trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.
As part of his latest moves to protect the US economy, the president placed 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China. They were later postponed by 30 days following talks with the Mexican and Canadian leaders, who pledged to work on enhancing border security. Last week, the administration also suspended a key element of the tariffs imposed on China, temporarily retaining the longstanding duty-free status of small-value packages, after his tariff move sparked chaos with deliveries.
READ MORE: EU to hit back against Trump’s metal tariffs – Paris
On Monday, the European Commission said in a statement that the bloc would react to protect its interests against “unlawful and economically counterproductive” tariffs on aluminum and steel.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said retaliation is inevitable once the tariffs on metal imports are introduced. He noted that a similar situation occurred in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office, when Brussels responded to tariff hikes by placing duties on motorcycles, jeans, tobacco, corn, rice, orange juice, and bourbon from the US.
