Latest news with #tradeWar
RNZ News
a day ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Trump plans to double steel, aluminum tariffs to 50%
By Jeff Mason , Reuters US President Donald Trump looks on during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on 24 March, 2025, in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski US President Donald Trump plans to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50 percent - from 25 percent - ratcheting up pressure on global steel producers and deepening his trade war. "We are going to be imposing a 25 percent increase. We're going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent - the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States," he said at a rally in Pennsylvania. The doubling of steel and aluminum levies intensifies Trump's global trade war and came just hours after he accused China of violating an agreement with the US to mutually roll back tariffs and trade restrictions for critical minerals. Trump announced the higher tariffs just outside Pittsburgh, where he was talking up an agreement between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel. Trump said the US$14.9 billion (NZ$25b) deal, like the tariff increase, will help keep jobs for steel workers in the US. He later posted on social media that the increased tariff would also apply to aluminum products and that it would take effect on Wednesday (local time). Shares of steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Inc surged 26 percent after the market close as investors bet the new levies will help its profits. The announcement drew harsh reactions from US trading partners around the world. Canada's Chamber of Commerce quickly denounced the tariff hike as "antithetical to North American economic security." "Unwinding the efficient, competitive and reliable cross-border supply chains like we have in steel and aluminum comes at a great cost to both countries," Candace Laing, president of the chamber, said in a statement. Canada's United Steelworkers union called the move a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers. The European Commission said on Saturday that Europe is prepared to retaliate. "This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," a European Commission spokesperson said. "The EU is prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest US tariff increase." Australia's centre-left government also condemned the tariff increase, with Trade Minister Don Farrell calling it "unjustified and not the act of a friend." Trump spoke at U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works, a steel plant that symbolizes both the one-time strength and the decline of US manufacturing power as the Rust Belt's steel plants and factories lost business to international rivals. Closely contested Pennsylvania is also a major prize in presidential elections. The US is the world's largest steel importer, excluding the European Union, with a total of 26.2 million tonnes of imported steel in 2024, according to the Department of Commerce. As a result, the new tariffs will likely increase steel prices across the board, hitting industry and consumers alike. Steel and aluminum tariffs were among the earliest put into effect by Trump when he returned to office in January. The tariffs of 25 percent on most steel and aluminum imported to the US went into effect in March, and he had briefly threatened a 50 percent levy on Canadian steel but ultimately backed off. Under the so-called Section 232 national security authority, the import taxes include both raw metals and derivative products as diverse as stainless steel sinks, gas ranges, air conditioner evaporator coils, horseshoes, aluminum frying pans and steel door hinges. The 2024 import value for the 289 product categories came to US$147.3 billion (NZ$247.2b) with nearly two-thirds aluminum and one-third steel, according to Census Bureau data retrieved through the US International Trade Commission's Data Web system. By contrast, Trump's first two rounds of punitive tariffs on Chinese industrial goods in 2018 during his first term totaled US$50b (NZ$84b) in annual import value. - Reuters
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
EU Commission ‘strongly' regrets announced increase in US steel tariffs
The European Commission said on Saturday that it 'strongly' regrets an announced increase of US tariffs on steel imports and that the EU is prepared to impose countermeasures. US President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50 percent from 25 percent, putting more pressure on global steel producers and deepening his trade war. 'We strongly regret the announced increase of US tariffs on steel imports from 25 percent to 50 percent,' a European Commission spokesperson said in an emailed statement. 'This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,' the spokesperson said, adding that 'the tariff increase also undermines ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated solution.' The spokesperson noted that the European Union had paused its countermeasures to create space for continued negotiations. 'The EU is prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest US tariff increase,' the spokesperson said. 'The European Commission is currently finalizing consultations on expanded countermeasures. If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both existing and additional EU measures will automatically take effect on 14 July — or earlier, if circumstances require,' they added.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EU Commission 'strongly' regrets announced increase in US steel tariffs
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Saturday that it "strongly" regrets an announced increase in U.S. tariffs on steel imports. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, putting more pressure on global steel producers and deepening his trade war. "We strongly regret the announced increase of U.S. tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%," a European Commission spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," the spokesperson said, adding that "the tariff increase also undermines ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated solution".
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump announces new steel and aluminium tariffs in blow to global markets
Donald Trump has announced plans to double tariffs on steel imports from next week, intensifying his trade war and unsettling global markets. Addressing a rally of steel workers in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday, the US president revealed that tariffs would rise from 25% to 50%, claiming the measure "will even further secure the steel industry in the United States." Mr Trump later confirmed on Truth Social that the new tariffs, which also apply to aluminium imports, would take effect from Wednesday. He declared that American "industries are coming back like never before." "This will be yet another BIG jolt of great news for our wonderful steel and aluminum (sic) workers," he wrote, adding: "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" In a separate statement, he said: "We don't want America's future to be built with shoddy steel from Shanghai - we want it built with the strength and the pride of Pittsburgh!" However, a UK government source told Sky News that Britain will remain exempt from the new tariff rates, following the signing of a US-UK trade deal earlier this month. The source highlighted this agreement as evidence of why reaching an early arrangement with the Trump administration had been critical. Under the deal, the US agreed to "promptly construct a quota at most favoured nation (MFN) rates" for British steel, aluminium and derivative products. The escalation follows Mr Trump's claim earlier that China had "totally violated" an agreement designed to mutually roll back tariffs and trade restrictions on critical minerals. "So much for being Mr Nice Guy," he wrote on his social media platform. Initially, Mr Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports in March as part of an effort to protect US manufacturing and jobs, making foreign imports less appealing to domestic industries. These increased tariffs threaten to raise costs for American consumers, affecting products from cars to canned soft drinks. Trump previously warned Canada it could face tariffs of up to 50% on steel imports, prompting Ontario's provincial government to threaten to increase electricity charges by 25% to American customers. Ontario supplies electricity to more than 1.5 million US homes and businesses in Minnesota, New York, and Michigan. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously described the potential tariffs as an "attack" on Canadian workers, families, and businesses. Currently, roughly a quarter of steel used in the US is imported, predominantly from countries including Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. In 2024, the US imported 6.6 million tonnes of steel from Canada and 3.5 million tonnes from Mexico. The US also heavily relies on imported aluminium, receiving 3.2 million tonnes from Canada last year.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
China's manufacturing activity falls in May, PMI shows
BEIJING, May 31 (Reuters) - China's manufacturing activity shrank for a second month in May, an official survey showed on Saturday, raising expectations for more stimulus to support the economy amid a protracted trade war with the United States. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 49.5 in May versus 49.0 in April, below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction, and was in line with a median forecast of 49.5 in a Reuters poll.
