Wittbecker on Ali: The aluminum tariff dilemma

We are quickly approaching Inauguration Day. The market still has no definitive clue as to how the Trump administration will execute on its threat to apply universal tariffs to all imports. Compounding this are the threats to apply 25% duties against our USMCA partners – Canada and Mexico.

A Washington Post article by Jeff Stein on Jan. 6 seemed to have temporarily calmed some of the angst. The Post reported that Trump aides were looking at plans to apply tariffs more narrowly to sectors identified as critical imports. You ask, “What are critical imports?” These are imports deemed important for national or economic security. This would include steel, aluminum, copper, rare earths, and battery metals.