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Briefing|Trump’s New Tariffs Target Foreign Metals
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/briefing/trumps-new-tariffs-target-foreign-metals.html
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President Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum today, reprising a policy from his first term. All imports of the metals, no matter the country of origin, would face a 25 percent tax, according to the White House.
Domestic steel makers say they are struggling to compete against cheap foreign steel. They benefited last time Trump imposed similar tariffs, Ana Swanson, our international trade reporter, told me.
“But there’s a big trade-off,” Ana said. “They increase costs for other businesses that use steel and aluminum. And there are a lot of those — makers of cars, machinery, planes and food packaging come to mind.”
The new fees are likely to rankle allies like Canada and Mexico, who supply the bulk of U.S. metal imports. They would also hit at China, which dominates the global steel and aluminum industry, even if it does not export a lot of steel or aluminum directly to the U.S.
In his three weeks back in office, Ana pointed out, Trump has already threatened more tariffs globally than he did in his entire first term, when he ended up imposing levies on foreign solar panels, washing machines, metals and more than $300 billion of products from China.
