Following the latest of a number of tariff-related announcements, President Donald Trump has officially confirmed that 25 percent tariffs will be imposed on all steel and aluminium imports into the US beginning March 12, 2025. The tariffs will also be expanded to include derivative steel articles once the Department of Commerce has implemented “adequate systems” to collect the tariffs on such articles. These blanket tariffs will apply to all imports into the US, regardless of the exporting country, affecting allies and competitors alike.
President Trump has also intimated that he will announce reciprocal tariffs in the coming days, to be applied against tariffs imposed against the US by other countries.
The steel and aluminium tariffs mirror those imposed during Trump’s first presidency, which included a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminium, while expanding the tariffs to include derivative steel articles. The previous tariffs on steel and aluminium articles saw a number of countries retaliate with their own measures, including most notably the EU, which in 2018 imposed tariffs on a number of symbolic US goods, including bourbon whiskey, jeans and motorcycles. Trump subsequently granted exemptions to several trading partners, including Canada and Mexico, and the Biden administration agreed to tariff-rate quotas for others, such as the EU. No exclusions or exemptions from these additional tariffs will be considered. And the order revokes the exclusion process for the original Section 232 tariffs, directs that exclusions already in effect will not be renewed, and revokes general approved exclusions effective March 12, 2025.
Responding to the initial announcement that President Trump would impose additional steel and aluminium tariffs, the European Commission stated that they would “react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures”, whilst Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that he would attempt to seek an exemption to the tariffs.
Official responses and retaliations from other countries remain to be seen – as ever, our Global Customs team will continually update our Import and Trade Remedies Blog as developments occur.
