11/02/25
Trump imposes new tariffs on steel, aluminum
Washington, 10 February (Argus) — US president Donald Trump today imposed a 25pc
tariff on all US imports of steel and aluminum effective 12 March, although he
said he would consider making an exemption for imports from Australia. In
remarks to reporters at the White House Trump complained that many of the steel
and aluminum tariffs he imposed since 2018 have been moderated or reduced for
some countries. Currently Australia and Canada can export any steel and aluminum
they want to into the US without tariffs, while Mexico can export steel melted
and poured in the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement region into the US without
tariffs, while any material with an origin outside of USMCA is subject to 25pc
tariffs. "Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in
foreign lands," Trump said. "It's 25pc without exceptions, and that's all
countries, no matter where it comes from, all countries." But Trump, prompted by
reporters, confirmed that he may make an exemption for Australian-sourced steel,
after Canberra threatened to take reciprocal measures. "We have a surplus with
Australia, one of the few," Trump said, referring to an overall trade surplus
the US runs with Australia. "And the reason is they buy a lot of airplanes."
Trump said he spoke with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese earlier
today. "I told him that [steel tariff exemptions] is something that we will give
great consideration." A similar exemption for the UK is unlikely since the US
already is running a trade deficit with that country, Trump said. Trump
contended that his initial volley of tariffs in 2018 led to the creation of
hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US and boosted economic growth. A 2019
study from the Federal Reserve Board that was updated in 2024 estimates that
taking into account retaliatory tariffs, there was a net decrease in US jobs and
economic growth from the tariffs. US oil and gas midstream companies were among
the industries hit by the 2018 tariffs, which led to higher costs for pipeline
steel. Most steel imports from non-tariffed US steel imports are heavily reliant
on the countries that are currently not subject to US tariffs, with their
volumes making up 80pc of the 26.2mn metric tonnes (t) of steel products
imported in 2024, according to US Department of Commerce data. Steel tariff rate
quota (TRQ) systems are in place for Argentina, Brazil, the EU, Japan, South
Korea and the UK for steel products, with specifics dependent on the country.
The CME Midwest hot-rolled coil (HRC) futures market jumped today, after Trump
said on Sunday he would impose new tariffs, by $51/short ton (st) for March to
$856/st, while April increased by $48/st to $858/st. Steel costs would rise by
$6.38bn based on the $25.5bn value of 2024 steel imports from those nontariffed
countries, if volumes remained the same. Those higher costs would lead to more
US steel mill price increases, with one buyer expecting another round of price
increases coming soon from US steelmakers. Steelmaker Nucor has increased its
published hot-rolled coil (HRC) spot price by $40/short ton (st) in the last
three weeks to $790/st. Other steelmakers like ArcelorMittal USA,
Cleveland-Cliffs, and US Steel are at $800/st offers for their spot HRC. Canada
key aluminum supplier In the aluminum market, the US imported over 6mn t of
products in 2024, according to customs data. Canadian aluminum exporters
currently have no restrictions on their volumes into the US. They shipped the
highest volumes into the US and are responsible for an even larger share of
primary aluminum imports. Current US primary aluminum smelting capacity,
excluding idled operations, is around 795,000t/yr, which equaled less than
one-third of Canadian imports and one-fifth of total imports. There are multiple
idled primary aluminum facilities and a greenfield plant currently under
construction, but observers and company representatives challenged the
feasibility of idled plant restarts in the past. TRQ systems exist for US
aluminum imports from Argentina, the EU, and the UK. By Haik Gugarats Send
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