President Donald Trump has said he will announce a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US, a move that will have the biggest impact in Canada.
Trump also said that there would be an announcement later in the week about reciprocal tariffs on all countries that tax imports from the US, but he did not specify which nations would be targeted, or if there would be any exemptions.
“If they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said.
He told reporters of his plans while traveling from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday.
Canada and Mexico are two of the US’s biggest steel trading partners, and Canada is the biggest supplier of aluminium metal into the US.
During his first term, Trump put tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
But the US reached a deal a year later with Canada and Mexico to end those tariffs, although the EU import taxes remained in place until 2021.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said on Monday he would announce tariffs on “everybody” for steel and aluminium.
“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” he said.
In response, Doug Ford, the premier of the province of Ontario, accused Trump of “shifting goalposts and constant chaos, putting our economy at risk” in an online post. Canada’s steel production is concentrated in Ontario.
Trump’s comments also caused the stocks of major South Korean steel and car makers to fall. South Korea is a major exporter of steel to the US.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament his government will “make the case” to the US for Australia to be given an exemption to any steel and aluminium tariffs – something they got during Trump’s first term.
Albanese also said he has a meeting scheduled with the US president.
The shares of Australia’s largest steel maker BlueScope were up about 1.6%. The company has a significant presence in Ohio where it operates the North Star Mill.
Trump’s move mark another major escalation in Trump’s trade policy, which has already sparked retaliation from China.
Tariffs are a central part of Trump’s economic vision – he sees them as a way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs and raising tax revenue.
Earlier this month, Trump threatened to impose import duties of 25% on Canadian and Mexican products but later delayed that plan for 30 days – until early March – after speaking to the leaders of both countries.
He also brought in new US levies of 10% on all Chinese goods coming into the US. Beijing has retaliated with its own set of tariffs which took effect on Monday.
Trump also said he would announce more tit-for-tat tariffs on “Tuesday or Wednesday” and that they would take effect “almost immediately” after the announcement.
“The ones that are taking advantage of the United States, we’re going to have reciprocal [tariffs],” he said. “It’ll be great for everybody, including other countries”.