Government/Policy
May 23, 2025
Written by Ethan Bernard
President Trump has threatened the European Union with 50% tariffs on imports into the United States beginning on June 1.
The president said trade discussions with the EU were “going nowhere” in a Truth Social post on Friday.
Shipbuilding is set to return to Sparrows Point, Md. President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced plans to develop a new shipbuilding facility at the site called Arsenal-2. The 2-million-square-foot facility sitting on an 187-acre site will manufacture critical components for the Virginia-class submarine.
The Department of Commerce is adjusting the countervailing duties (CVDs) on imports of hot-rolled steel flat products from two South Korean producers. The agency released the final results of its administrative review for calendar year 2023, finding a lower rate for Hyundai but a higher rate for POSCO.
President Trump’s senior counsel for trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, has criticized South Korea for subsidized and transshipped steel. “South Korea is inundating the U.S. with highly subsidized steel and steel transshipped from China,” Navarro wrote in a post on X. “We are cracking down." In comments to C-SPAN, Navarro pointed to the White House’s recent report, the Great Transshipment Scam.
Philip K. Bell, head of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), delivered the opening presentation at the fall meeting of the International Iron Metallics Association (IIMA) in Chicago this week. He touched on three key themes: Section 232, the Mesabi Metallics mill in Iowa, and the increasing importance of financial experience for leadership positions in steel.
The US Department of Commerce is considering raising the anti-dumping duties on imports of corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from Korea.