Trump says tariffs on inbound steel, aluminum on the way

Contributing to an ever-shifting tariff landscape in the United States, President Donald J. Trump this weekend told reporters he was planning to implement tariffs on all inbound steel and aluminum.

As reported by the Associated Press (AP) and other news outlets, Trump related his newest tariff declaration to reporters traveling with him on Air Force One Sunday, Feb. 9, as he made his way to the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25 percent tariff,” Trump stated, according to AP. The news agency also says that when asked about a tariff on aluminum, Trump replied, “aluminum, too.”

The president also says his administration is reviewing the trade policies of other nations so it can levy what it considers “reciprocal” tariffs on countries that impose duties on inbound U.S. products and materials.

“If they are charging us 130 percent and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” Trump reportedly said Sunday.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data aggregated by the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), North American trading partners Canada and Mexico were two of the three largest shippers of steel into the U.S. last year.

In 2024, Canada sent more than 6.5 million tons of finished and semifinished steel to the U.S., followed by Brazil (4.5 million), Mexico (3.5 million), South Korea (2.8 million) and Vietnam (1.36 million).

A report on the potential tariffs by the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) features a reaction from Doug Ford, the premier of the Canadian province of Ontario, with Ford labeling Trump as responsible for “shifting goalposts and constant chaos, putting our economy at risk.”

That same report also indicates investors in South Korea have been selling shares in automotive and steelmaking firms listed there, including steel producer POSCO and vehicle producer Kia Corp.

Twice this decade, South Korea’s Hyundai—which makes cars and steel—has indicated it is studying the idea of building an electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in the U.S.

On the trade policy front, the Virginia-based Aluminum Association earlier this month stated it does not support tariffs placed on inbound aluminum from Canada or Mexico.

“Thanks to robust domestic demand and coming investment, the U.S. aluminum industry needs a steady and predictable supply of primary, secondary and scrap aluminum,” the association says. “The U.S. industry sources around two-thirds of the primary aluminum it uses every year from Canada, since all U.S.-based smelters, even running at full capacity, cannot produce nearly enough metal to meet demand. And, about 90 percent of U.S. scrap imports come from either Canada or Mexico. It would take billions of [dollars in] investment over decades to make the U.S. fully self-sufficient for its metal needs,” the Aluminum Association adds.

The association says it is more supportive of tariffs imposed on what it calls “nonmarket actors,” mentioning China specifically.

In its policy statement on trade, AISI also points to China as a source of overcapacity-related issues and mentions Mexico as the potential location for “widespread transshipment of steel through third countries” that brings Chinese metal into the U.S.

Thus, AISI says relative to Canada and Mexico, it seeks “a requirement that only steel products from Canada and Mexico that were melted and poured in North America are eligible for duty-free treatment.”