WASHINGTON, D.C. May 31— US President Donald Trump announced plans to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum—from 25% to 50%—a move that escalates his ongoing trade war and sparks criticism from U.S. allies and industry leaders.
“We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50%—the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States,” Trump declared during a rally outside Pittsburgh. The event, held near US Steel’s Mon Valley Works plant, served as a backdrop for his endorsement of a new $14.9 billion deal between Nippon Steel and US Steel.
Shortly after his speech, Trump confirmed on social media that the tariff hike would also apply to aluminum products, taking effect Wednesday.
The announcement sent steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Inc’s shares soaring by 26% in after-hours trading, as markets anticipated stronger margins for domestic producers under the new protectionist measures.
The doubling of duties comes amid renewed friction with China. Just hours before the rally, Trump accused Beijing of breaching a previous agreement to roll back mutual restrictions on trade in critical minerals—raising the stakes in an already fraught global economic standoff.
Criticism from abroad followed swiftly. Canada’s Chamber of Commerce condemned the tariff increase as “antithetical to North American economic security.”
“Unwinding the efficient, competitive and reliable cross-border supply chains like we have in steel and aluminum comes at a great cost to both countries,” said chamber president Candace Laing in a statement.
Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell went further, calling the move “unjustified and not the act of a friend.”
“They are an act of economic self-harm that will only hurt consumers and businesses who rely on free and fair trade,” Farrell said. He added that Australia would continue to lobby Washington for the removal of the levies.
Trump’s message was also directed at voters in swing-state Pennsylvania, a key battleground in presidential races. The Mon Valley Works plant—once a symbol of American industrial dominance—was portrayed as both a casualty of globalization and a potential beneficiary of his protectionist policies.
The United States, excluding the European Union, was the world’s largest importer of steel in 2024, with 26.2 million tons brought in, according to the Department of Commerce. The tariff increase is expected to ripple through supply chains and consumer markets, raising costs industry-wide.
The initial 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum were among Trump’s first executive trade moves upon returning to office in January. Those levies, implemented under Section 232 national security provisions, also apply to a wide range of derivative goods—from aluminum frying pans and horseshoes to gas ranges and steel door hinges.
In 2024 alone, imports across 289 related product categories amounted to $147.3 billion, with two-thirds representing aluminum and the rest steel, according to Census Bureau figures via the U.S. International Trade Commission.
For comparison, Trump’s earlier waves of tariffs against Chinese industrial goods during his first term in 2018 covered $50 billion in annual import value—making this latest move one of his most sweeping trade interventions yet.
