So far, in another major growth of his trade policy overhaul, US President Donald Trump announced that on Monday the United States would impose 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, which would come to the top of additional metal duties- expected to be revealed Is later in the week.
Talking to reporters riding in the Air Force on Sunday, while he was on the way to NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans, Trump also said that he would announce a mutual tariff in early Tuesday, which would be almost effective.
However, Republican did not clarify who would be targeted with mutual tariffs, but insisted that the US would match the tariff rates levied by other countries and it would be applicable to all countries. “And very easily, this is, if they charge us, we charge them,” he said on his mutual tariff scheme.
During his first White House tenure from 2016-2020, Trump imposed 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum, but later many business partners including Canada, Mexico and Brazil were given duty-free quota. Former President Joe Biden extended these quota to Britain, Japan and European Union, and in recent years US steel mill capacity utilization has declined.
Canada, more trouble for Mexico?
Official data, Canada, Brazil and Mexico are the largest sources of American steel imports, followed by South Korea and Vietnam. Meanwhile, Canada is the largest supplier of primary aluminum metal by a huge margin to the United States, accounting for 79 percent of total imports in the first 11 months of 2024. Mexico is a major supplier of aluminum scrap and aluminum alloys.
Matching rate?
The US President said that he would organize a news conference on Tuesday or Wednesday to provide detailed information on the mutual tariff scheme, saying that he first revealed on Friday that he was planning a mutual tariff to ensure that The “we treat other countries equally.”
Trump has long complained about 10 percent of the European Union tariffs on auto imports, which is much higher than the US car rate 2.5 percent. He often states that Europe “will not take our cars” but every year the Atlantic ships millions of wests.
The United States, however, enjoys 25 percent of tariffs on pickup trucks, Detroot is an important source of profits for American operations of General Motors, Ford and Stelantis.
According to the data of the World Trade Organization, the US trade-loving average tariff rate is around 2.2 percent as compared to 2.7 percent for India, 6.7 percent for Brazil, 5.1 percent for Vietnam and 2.7 percent for European Union countries.
