President Trump’s sweeping tariff for foreign steel and aluminum entered into force on Wednesday, as American commercial reptiles escalated with global competitors, including already close allies of his approach to commercial sanctions.
Mr. Trump’s tariff, of 25 percent, struck the minerals imports that enter the United States from any country in the world. This step, which is many local steel and aluminum makers SupportThe costs of American manufacturers for cars, tin cans, solar panels and other products will be expected to slow down.
Working on minerals was just an attempt by Mr. Trump to take advantage of the power of definitions and the American market against foreign governments. Last week, it is I issued a sharp tariff On imports from Canada, Mexico and China, blame those countries to enter drugs and migrants to the United States, quickly before Restore some of them. The president threatens to impose a set of other definitions, including foreign cars and against countries It says discrimination Against the United States.
His approach was met with Market stagnation Many allies have been sent in a defensive position as they try to decipher what the president really wants. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump Double The definitions of Canadian minerals were after Ontario responded to Mr. Trump’s previous definitions by setting additional fees on the electricity that was exported to the United States. Within hours, Ontario suspended her additional fees, and Mr. Trump walked his threats.
Mineral definitions, and other upcoming fees, may worsen again. Foreign governments, including in Canada and Europe, pledged revenge by issuing fees that are likely to hurt the American exporters. Mineral definitions mainly affect the United States ’allies: Canada is to a large extent the largest resource of both steel and aluminum for the United States. Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam are also the top steel suppliers, while the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China are the top suppliers of American aluminum.
The customs tariffs re -expand similar measures put in place by Mr. Trump in 2018, which appeared in many long -term commercial wars. Mr. Trump has argued that the definitions needed to protect national security and provide a reliable source of minerals to the army in wartime.
In the decisive years, Mr. Trump and former President Joseph R. Biden Junior offers with foreign countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Nations in Europe, which abandoned the customs tariff. The American mineral industry complained that the measures are no longer strong enough to maintain steel factories and aluminum fuse standing on its feet.
Kevin Dempsey, head of the American Iron and Steel Institute, an industrial group, said the definitions were “very effective” compared to previous trade procedures for only one specific countries or specific products.
“Things will be, without that customs tariff, much worse for the industry,” said Mr. Dempsey.
But since steel and aluminum are used to make many other products, raising the price of metal will have ripples throughout the American economy. By increasing the costs of the basic inputs of many companies, customs duties can harm manufacturers that ultimately employ more than Americans from steel and aluminum fuse, which may cause Mr. Trump’s plans to enhance US manufacturing for counterproductive results.
Economic analysis The American International Trade Committee, an independent agency of the two parties, suggested that the costs of the American economy are from the first segment of Mr. Trump from the metal tariff that exceeds the gains.
The study found that the metal tariff imposed in 2018 encouraged buyers of steel and aluminum to buy more American sources, and led to the high domestic prices of minerals and the expansion of US steel production by about 2 percent between 2018 and 2021, the years that the report studied.
But the analysis also found that the customs tariff raised the costs of production for companies that make cars, tools and industrial machinery, and reduce production in those industries and other industries with about $ 3.48 billion in 2021 as a result. Steel and aluminum industries produced only $ 2.25 billion in minerals that year due to fees.
In an attempt to alleviate these harmful consequences, the Trump administration expanded the tariffs of steel and aluminum this time to include many raying goods, or “derived products”, made of steel and aluminum, like Parts of tractor, metal furniture and joints.
Chad Bon, an older colleague at the Peterson International Economy Institute, a research organization, said the movement was “implicit recognition” that some industries suffer due to the previous tariff of Mr. Trump.
He said that the customs tariff created a “cycle of successive protectionism” in which more industries are required for government guarantees, and that “it may be difficult to stop” as soon as it comes out.
“Where do you end?” Mr. Bon asked.
The possibility of high costs of American industries, such as car manufacturers, also encouraged pressure on their foreign competitors to protect their business. Mr. Trump said he is planning to impose a tariff on foreign cars on April 2.
For automotive companies, metal tariffs threaten costs when the prices of new cars and trucks are near record levels. The average price of a new vehicle in January was more than $ 48,000, according to Edmunds, a market research group.
“The ability to withstand costs is already a great concern for American shoppers amid high prices and interest rates,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’s head of ideas.
Robert Bodway, head of the Can Manufacturers, a commercial group representing companies that make steel and aluminum cans of food, soda, beer and paint, said the definitions will lead to high packaging costs, which will be ultimately transferred to American consumers.
Mr. Budway said that food packages were more dependent on imported minerals, and simply pushing more for them. According to the institute’s figures, the cost of steel can increase by 53 percent from 2019 to 2024, after Mr. Trump imposed his definitions for the first time.
“It makes the price higher,” said Budway.
The measures seem likely to call for revenge on foreign countries, which leads to the recovery of American exporters.
Canadian officials said they were planning revenge, adding to a 25 percent tariff that their government put on $ 30 billion in American goods this month in response to Mr. Trump’s drawings.
“The Canada government was clear in this issue from the beginning,” said Gabriel Brunett, a spokesman for the Finance Minister, Dominic Lieblank, who leads the commercial response in Canada. He said on Tuesday: “If the United States moves forward,” definitions of minerals or other drawings, we will be ready to respond firmly and consistently. “
The European Union was preparing to respond to the customs duties they called.Economically opposite results”
“He traveled to the United States last month” seeking constructive dialogue. “
“In the end, as it is said, one hand cannot applause,” he said. “The American administration does not seem to be participating in a deal.”
The European Union has already a set of definitions – including 25 percent of the fees On products like American Whisky – is scheduled to start at the end of March. A group that focuses on trade within the European Union system He spent most of the past year Preparing for different situations, although it retained any updates of the confidentiality of its tariffs, according to three diplomats who spoke on the condition that his identity was not disclosed to discuss an issue that was not yet public.
But it was difficult for Europeans to decide how to respond to the threat of definitions, and European officials also woven to obtain their American counterparts on the phone.
Ursula von der Lin, President of the European Commission, has not spoken individually with Mr. Trump since his opening. When I was asked when you could do this during a press conference on Sunday, she said that “we will have a personal meeting when the time comes.”
Neil E Bodit The reports contributed.
