WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he will announce on Monday that the United States will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico, as well as other import duties later in the week.
“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25 per cent tariff,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. When asked about aluminum, he responded, “aluminum, too” will be subject to the trade penalties.
Trump also reaffirmed that he would announce “reciprocal tariffs” — “probably Tuesday or Wednesday” — meaning that the U.S. would impose import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on U.S. goods.
“If they are charging us 130 per cent and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” he told reporters.
Trump’s comments are the latest example of his willingness to threaten, and in some cases to impose, import taxes. Tariffs are coming much earlier in his presidency than during his previous four years in the White House, when he prioritized tax cuts and deregulation. Trump has alternately said he sees import taxes as tools to force concessions on issues such as immigration, but also as a source of revenue to help close the government’s budget deficit.
Trump imposed steel and aluminum tariffs at 25 and 10 per cent respectively during his first term in March 2018 using national security as justification.
Canada was initially given an exemption to these duties, but was ultimately hit by the tariffs on May 31, 2018. Canada responded with a series of counter-tariffs on American products like Florida orange juice.
Nearly a year later, on May 17, 2019, the White House announced a deal had been reached to prevent “surges” in the steel and aluminum supplies from Canada and Mexico, ending the trade dispute.
Financial markets fell on Friday after Trump first said he would impose the reciprocal tariffs. Stock prices also dropped after a measure of consumer sentiment declined on Friday, largely because many respondents cited tariffs as a growing worry. The survey also found that Americans are expecting inflation to tick up in the coming months because of the duties.
Trump on Sunday did not offer any details about the steel and aluminum duties, or the reciprocal tariffs. Trump previously threatened 25 per cent import taxes on all goods from Canada and Mexico, though on Feb. 3 he paused them for 30 days. At the same time, he proceeded to add 10 per cent duties on imports from China.
Yet on Friday, he said he would also delay the tariffs on the millions of small packages — often from fast-fashion firms such as Temu and Shein — until customs officials can figure out ways to impose them. The small packages have previously been exempt from tariffs.
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.