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    Analysis

    October 22, 2025

    Join SMU and AMU for a Community Chat with Wiley on Trump, Trade, and Tariffs

    Written by Michael Cowden

    Want to know the latest on Trump, tariffs, and trade policy – and the impact on both steel and aluminum?

    Join Steel Market Update (SMU), Aluminum Market Update (AMU), and leading law firm Wiley for a Community Chat on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 11 am ET. You can register here.

    We’ll recap where we’ve been this year and where we might be headed next year. And we’ll be talking not only steel but aluminum, too.

    Veteran trade attorney Alan Price will join us again to talk about what President Trump’s tariff and trade policies mean for steel. And his colleague, Robert DeFrancesco, will discuss what it all means for aluminum.

    When we last caught up with Wiley in March, stricter Section 232 tariffs had just gone into effect amid surging steel prices and extending lead times. A lot has happened since: “Liberation Day” tariffs, additional Section 232s on steel- and aluminum-intensive goods, and the doubling of S232 on imported steel and aluminum to 50%.

    That’s not to mention an inclusion process for downstream products. Meanwhile, the USMCA review will become a point of focus as lead times tick closer to 2026.

    Some points we’ll consider: Will Trump reduce or lift the 50% Section 232 tariff from Canada? If he did, would we see a repeat of 2019, when the removal of tariffs sent US steel prices lower?

    Could we see an even more dramatic reversal in aluminum, where the Midwest premium has skyrocketed because the US imports most of its metal from its northern neighbor? Or will the tariff remain in place unless Canada acts more aggressively to constrain overseas imports?

    Then there is the question of reshoring. The tariff wall built by the US has constrained imports, limiting supply. But what about demand: Will reshoring increase it? And how long might that process take?

    We’ll take your questions too. So don’t forget to pack some good ones for the Q&A on Thursday (yes, Thursday!) Nov. 13 at 11 am ET.

    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.

    Read more from Michael Cowden

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