Trump slaps 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports in an ongoing escalation of a trade war with key partners, including the closest U.S. neighbors.

“Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands," said Trump from the Oval Office. "We need to create in order to protect our country's future and the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing and production."

Trump also said he would be announcing "reciprocal tariffs" in the coming days. The tariffs would be proportional to the tariffs individual countries place on imported American goods.

“We don't want it to hurt other countries, but they've been taking advantage of us for years and years and years," he said. "They've charged us and we haven't charged them. And it's time to be reciprocal.”

In 2024, 23% of all steel used in the U.S. was imported, with Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam as the largest suppliers, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute .

Earlier this month, Trump paused 25% tariffs he’d planned to impose on Canada and Mexico for 30 days after the countries’ leaders promised to step up their efforts to improve border security.

Within hours of Trump’s Saturday order,  Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  hit back with tit-for-tat retaliatory 25% tariffs on American goods. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was considering "tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico's interests."

Trump, who has called himself “Tariff Man,” said the move was to force the countries to stem the flow of migrants and fentanyl across the borders and into the U.S.

Tariffs have been central  to Trump’s economic strategy, leaning on them to increase revenue and protect jobs. He also views them as tools to aid negotiations with various countries.

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Roughly half of all aluminum used in the U.S. is imported, with most of it coming from Canada. At 3.2 million tons last year, Canadian imports were twice the next nine countries combined, according to Reuters.

Trump said earlier this month that he wanted the countries to " balance out their trade , No. 1."

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada was  $80.1 billion in 2022,  a 68% increase over 2021. Meanwhile, the trade deficit with Mexico stood at  $131.1 billion in 2022,  a 24% increase over 2021.

Economists have warned that the tariffs could raise prices for American consumers . Trump did not dispute that assertion, saying Americans could feel some "short-term pain" from the emerging trade war.

"But long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world," he said, adding that the U.S. had trade deficits with "almost" every country. He said he was "going to change that."

(This story has been updated to reflect the latest developments.)

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump escalates trade war with 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum