Trump Pledges to Double Tariffs on Foreign Steel to 50%

Politics|Trump Pledges to Double Tariffs on Foreign Steel to 50%

President Trump said on Friday that he would double the tariffs he had levied on foreign steel, increasing them to 50 percent, a move that he claimed would further protect the industry.

Speaking at a U.S. Steel factory just outside Pittsburgh, Mr. Trump said foreign countries had been able to circumvent the 25 percent tariff he put in place this year.

He made the pledge at the end of a week in which legal challenges threatened many of his tariffs. A court ruled on Wednesday that Mr. Trump’s taxes on imports from China, Canada, Mexico and other nations were unlawful, before an appeals court paused that decision the next day.

But those court decisions do not affect Mr. Trump’s steel tariffs. The levies on steel, aluminum and cars were issued through a separate law pertaining to national security.

Mr. Trump also reassured employees of U.S. Steel, which has been weighing an acquisition by Nippon Steel, a Japanese company, that they would “continue to be controlled by the U.S.A.” He did not provide any details about whether Nippon is acquiring the American steel maker, as it originally proposed, or if a deal may take some other form.

“You’re going to stay an American company, you know that?” Mr. Trump said.

His appearance in Pennsylvania was the latest twist in a two-year saga about the fate of U.S. Steel, an iconic American company that became consumed by presidential politics. During the campaign last year, Mr. Trump, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and former Vice President Kamala Harris all expressed opposition to U.S. Steel’s being sold to a foreign company.

The fact that the company is based in the swing state of Pennsylvania and that the deal faced resistance from the powerful United Steelworkers union further complicated the transaction.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.