Trump officially orders sweeping 25% tariff on steel, aluminum

Trump authorized the new tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act in a signing ceremony Monday evening. Section 232 was employed during Trump’s first term in 2018 to levy steel and aluminum tariffs of 25%.

The new version of Section 232 goes into effect at 12:01 am ET on March 12, according to the executive order.

The latest iteration of Section 232 removed quotas, exemptions, and other carve outs that had accumulated over years. For example, it removed quotas that Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea had negotiated or been compelled to accept in exchange for exemption from the 25% tariff. It also re-instated the 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, which had been exempt from the measure since 2019.

Trump in addition removed the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) that the Biden administration negotiated with the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Former President Joe Biden had aimed to ease the measure against the United States’ closest traditional allies in 2022.

Finally, it removed exemptions to Section 232 that had been granted to Ukraine to support the country’s steel industry – an important part of its economy – following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

What’s more, the order extend Section 232 tariffs to downstream products such as fabricated structural steel and prestressed concrete strand. Such value-added products were not included in the original Section 232.

Also, the aluminum tariff has been increased from 10% in 2018 to 25% in the latest version Section 232.

The levy comes on the heels of new 10% tariffs on goods from China, which in turn retaliated with duties of 15% on imports of coal from the United States and planned to apply tighter restrictions to exports worldwide of some critical materials – notably tungsten, which is critical for making weapons.

Meanwhile, a 25% blanket levy on all goods from Canada and Mexico has been paused for 30 days as both countries agreed they would address border issues. However, both countries had stated they would retaliate with their own tariffs on US goods.

Trump in addition threatened recipocal tariffs in response to other countries’ existing duties on the US.

“Very simply, it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said Sunday.