Steel Products

Trump Plans 25% Section 232 Tariff on Steel

March 1, 2018

President Trump now says he will sign a measure next week calling for a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports on national security grounds under Section 232.

Trump had looked set to make the trade action official today, even calling industry executives to a meeting at the White House, but reportedly delayed the action amid disagreement with his trade advisors.

Quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Trump told the executives: “What has been allowed to go on for decades is disgraceful. When it comes to a time when our country can’t make aluminum and steel, you almost don’t have much of a country.” He added that the tariffs would provide protection “for a long period of time.”

It’s unclear at this point whether the 25 percent duties will be on all steel imports or just those from certain countries. Among the three options recommended by the Commerce Department in its Section 232 report was a 24 percent global tariff.

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