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Hassett: 50% S232 tariffs are set to go

June 3, 2025

Section 232 tariffs of 50% on imported steel will go into effect on Wednesday with few exceptions, according to a top White House official.

“The basic idea about 232 is that if we have to be prepared for bad things that could happen. And so, if we’re prepared for a possible war, then it won’t happen,” said Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council .

Hassett made the comments on Tuesday at the American Iron and Steel Institute’s annual conference. They came during a discussion led by AISI President and CEO Kevin Dempsey and Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves.

Hassett gave the example of the risks to a country that makes cannons but imports cannonballs, hinting at President Trump’s strategy to reshore manufacturing supply chains.

He also cited the threat posed by overcapacity in China, whose policies he said are aimed at putting steelmakers abroad out of business.

“That’s why the 50% is starting tomorrow. And the exceptions are going to be few,” Hassett said.

Hassett’s position at the National Economic Council makes him one of the more influential voices in the Trump administration.

AISI’s Dempsey said that the higher tariffs were “extremely welcome” by the industry. Some conference attendees said along the sidelines of the event that the move had caught them completely by surprise.

Recall that Trump on Friday announced that he would double Section 232 tariffs on imported steel to 50% during a rally near Pittsburgh.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.