
Higher US metals tariffs kick in as deadline for 'best offers' arrives
Washington doubled its tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on Wednesday, the same day President Donald Trump's administration expects trading partners to make "best offers" to avoid other punishing import levies from taking effect in early July.
Maros Sefcovic, the trade negotiator for the European Union, said he "had a productive and constructive discussion" with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris on Wednesday morning.
"We're advancing in the right direction at pace - and staying in close contact to maintain the momentum," Sefcovic said on X, without giving any detail on the talks. He had been due to make the case for cutting or eliminating threatened tariffs on European imports.
Late on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive proclamation that activates from Wednesday a hike in the tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50% from the 25% rate introduced in March.
"We started at 25 and then after studying the data more, realized that it was a big help, but more help is needed. And so that is why the 50 is starting tomorrow," White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told a steel industry conference in Washington on Tuesday. The increase came into effect at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT).
The increase applies to all trading partners except Britain, the only country so far that has struck a preliminary trade agreement with the U.S. during a 90-day pause on a wider array of Trump tariffs. The rate for steel and aluminium imports from the UK - which does not rank among the top exporters of either metal to the U.S. - will remain at 25% until at least July 9.
The United States imports about a quarter of all its steel, and Census Bureau data shows the increased levies will hit the closest U.S. trading partners - Canada and Mexico - especially hard.
Canada will be even more exposed to the aluminium levies since it exports to the U.S. roughly twice as much as the rest of the top 10 exporters' volumes combined. The U.S. gets about half of its aluminum from foreign sources.
Prime Minister Mark Carney's office said Canada was "engaged in intensive and live negotiations to have these and other tariffs removed."
Mexico's Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard reiterated that the tariffs were unsustainable and unfair, especially given that Mexico imports more steel from the U.S. than it exports there.
The increase in the levies jolted the market for both metals this week, especially for aluminium, which has seen price premiums more than double this year. With little capacity to increase domestic production, U.S. import volumes are likely to be unaffected unless the price increases undercut demand.
'Best offer' due date
Wednesday is also when the White House would like trading partners to propose deals that might help them avoid Trump's hefty "reciprocal" tariffs on imports across the board from taking effect in five weeks.
U.S. officials have been in talks with a number of countries since Trump announced a pause on those tariffs on April 9, but so far only the UK deal has come to fruition. Even that pact is more of a preliminary framework for more talks.
Reuters reported on Monday that Washington was asking countries to list their best proposals in a number of key areas, including tariff and quota offers for U.S. products and plans to remedy any non-tariff barriers.
In turn, the letter promises answers "within days" with an indication of a "landing zone," including what tariff rates countries can expect after the 90-day pause ends on July 8.
At issue for most trading partners is whether they retain the current baseline rate of 10% on most exports to the U.S. after that date, or something possibly much higher.
Havoc for businesses
Separately, alarm over China's hold on the critical minerals market is growing as global automakers joined U.S. counterparts to complain that its restrictions on exports of rare earth alloys, mixtures and magnets could cause production delays.
China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors globally.
Uncertainty around U.S. trade policy is creating havoc for businesses around the world. On Wednesday, French spirits group Remy Cointreau abandoned its 2030 sales growth ambitions, saying tariffs, slow U.S. sales and high uncertainty could derail its plans for this financial year and beyond.
Austrian speciality steelmaker Voestalpine also warned that tariffs were likely to dent its earnings, while German engineering lobby group VDMA blamed uncertainty caused by Trump's tariffs for a 6% drop in orders its members reported in May.
Meadow, a Swedish business which reuses aluminium cans to make packaging for consumer goods, said the company was looking for ways to protect against future shocks.
"One way to do that is to move supply chains closer to home so as to become less reliant on strategically compromised countries for supply," said Meadow's head of sustainability Ross Murdoch.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The National
an hour ago
- The National
Oil prices jump 4% on rising Middle East tension
Oil prices rose more than 4 per cent on Wednesday as the US was preparing to evacuate non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad amid rising regional tension. Brent crude futures rose $1.96, or 3.02 per cent, to $66.82 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.93, or 4.51 per cent, to $67.90 per barrel at 4pm ET. 'It's so fragile. If you see any aberration like that, it doesn't surprise me at all you see volatility in oil prices,' said Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management in Boston. The US State Department said it was preparing to evacuate non-essential staff in its embassy in Iraq, Opec's second-largest producer of crude oil behind Saudi Arabia. Non-essential staff members and family members were also authorised to leave Bahrain and Kuwait, according to reports. Tension in the region flared up on Wednesday as efforts between the US and Iran to reach a nuclear deal appeared to stall. In an interview with the New York Post published on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he was getting 'less confident' about the prospects of a deal being reached. Mr Trump had previously expressed hope that the two sides could reach a deal, and a sixth round of talks were scheduled to take place in Oman on Thursday. 'Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made,' he told the Post. Mr Trump added Tehran will not have a 'new nuclear weapon' regardless if a deal is reached. Matthew Bey, a senior global analyst at the Rane Network in Austin, said Mr Trump's comments are 'only reinforcing fears that nuclear talks may soon fall apart'. 'The likelihood of a US-Iran nuclear deal, even a temporary one, has declined in recent days as the White House has hardened its demand on Iran having to give up the right to enrich uranium and Iran has demonstrated little willingness to do so,' Mr Bey told The National in an email. Iran's Minister of Defence Aziz Nasirzadeh had also said on Wednesday that Tehran will strike US bases in the Middle East if nuclear talks fail and conflict arises. Major indexes on Wall Street wavered aftedr developments in the region, as investors continued to assess the prospects of a US-China trade truce and tame inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually flat, losing 1.1 points at the closing bell. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed 0.27 and 0.50 per cent lower, respectively. 'Given such uncertainty in the markets right now we tend to defer being negative when we can't understand this stuff. There's a handshake deal, but it's a long way off from an actual deal,' Mr Andersen said.


The National
2 hours ago
- The National
US discourages world leaders from taking part in Saudi-French UN conference on Palestinian statehood
US President Donald Trump 's administration is actively discouraging world leaders from taking part in a Saudi-French conference on Palestinian statehood scheduled for next week at the UN. 'This conference would be counterproductive and we will encourage others not to participate,' a State Department representative told The National. French officials have said President Emmanuel Macron is leaning towards recognising a Palestinian state before the UN conference that France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting from June 17 to 20. The goal of the conference is to establish the foundations for a plan towards a Palestinian state, with guarantees for Israel's security. Mr Macron, who is expected to attend the event, has said he is determined to recognise a Palestinian state, but also set out several conditions, including the 'demilitarisation' of Hamas. According to Reuters, the US warned countries in a memo that taking 'anti-Israel actions' after the conference could be seen as opposing Washington's foreign policy interests and may lead to diplomatic repercussions. 'The United States opposes any steps that would unilaterally recognise a conjectural Palestinian state, which adds significant legal and political obstacles to the eventual resolution of the conflict and could coerce Israel during a war, thereby supporting its enemies,' the memo read. Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway imposed sanctions on Tuesday on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The two ministers are settlers. 'The United States opposes the implied support of the conference for potential actions including boycotts and sanctions on Israel, as well as other punitive measures,' the memo read. Israel has repeatedly denounced the conference, saying it rewards Hamas for the October 7 attack that started the Gaza war, and has pressed France not to recognise a Palestinian state.


Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Iran threatens US bases in region if military conflict arises
If nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises with the United States, Iran will strike American bases in the region, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday, days ahead of a planned sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks. "Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don't come to fruition. If a conflict is imposed on us... all US bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries," Nasirzadeh said during a press conference. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with bombing if it does not reach a new nuclear deal. The next round of talks is due this week, with Trump saying negotiations would be held on Thursday while Tehran says they will take place on Sunday in Oman. Iran is expected to hand a counter-proposal to a previous US offer for a nuclear deal it rejected, with Trump reacting on Tuesday that Iran is becoming "much more aggressive" in nuclear talks. Nasirzadeh added Tehran recently tested a missile with a two-ton warhead and does not accept limitations. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said in February that Iran should further develop its military, including its missiles.