Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
Washington DC: US President Trump signed executive orders for new tariffs of 25% on all steel and aluminium imports into the US.
"Today I'm simplifying our tariffs on steel and aluminium," Trump said in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders. "It's 25% without exceptions or exemptions."
In doing so, he is fulfilling a campaign promise to impose tariffs on imports that match those levied by other countries on US exports.
Trump also signaled that he would consider imposing additional tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals and computer chips.
Trump to consider steel and aluminiumtariff exemptions for Australia
Trump said he would give "great consideration" to exempting Australian steel and aluminium imports from tariffs.
Trump's comment came after talking to Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Albanese argued for an exemption during the call, which was scheduled before the US president announced new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on Monday.
Trump said the US trade surplus with Australia was one of the reasons he was considering an exemption from the tariffs.
"We actually have a surplus," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about trade with Australia. "It's one of the only countries which we do. And I told [Albanese] that that's something that we'll give great consideration to."
Trump's statements came shortly after he announced the new tariffs, saying they are "without exception or exemption."
Australia, a key US security ally in the Indo-Pacific, had an exemption from such tariffs during Trump's first administration.
German steel giant says tariff impact would be 'limited'
German steel maker ThyssenKrupp on Monday says it expects possible US tariffs of up to 25% on all steel and aluminium imports would have only a "very limited impact" on its business.
"The main market for ThyssenKrupp's steel is Europe," the company said after US President Donald Trump suggested the tariff would come into force.
"The announced tariffs on imports to the US would only have a very limited impact on ThyssenKrupp's business based on the current state of knowledge," it added.
ThyssenKrupp's steel subsidiary is Germany's biggest steel producer, with a large site in the western city of Duisburg.
The share of steel exported to the United States is "negligible and mainly relates to high-quality products with a good market position," the Essen-based company said.
Most of ThyssenKrupp's turnover in the United States comes from trading and its automotive supply division.
"Much of the production for US customers takes place within the US," the company added.
Scholz: 'Whoever imposes tariffs should reckon with tariffs in return'
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was too early to comment in detail on Trump's tariff threats, given that for now they hailed solely from verbal comments to the media.
"Whoever imposes tariffs should reckon with tariffs in return," he said at a Social Democrat election campaign event in the eastern German city of Schwerin on Monday.
"It's clear that we will look at this very closely as the European Union, when it reaches us officially," Scholz added.
Scholz said there was little more to say amid the uncertainty, but said it would be important for Europeans to demonstrate "clarity" on the issue if it solidified.
Where do US steel and aluminium imports hail from?
Trump's threatened steel and aluminium tariffs would likely hit the Americas, and particularly Canada, hardest.
American Iron and Steel Institute figures show Canada, Brazil and Mexico as the three most prolific steel importers into the US, in that order.
South Korea, Vietnam and Japan follow that trio from the Americas, with Germany next in line, ahead of Taiwan and the Netherlands.
China, the world's biggest steel producer and exporter, has a meager foothold of less than 2% in the US import market. That's because it is already subject to 25% tariffs, imposed in 2018.
Trump's proposal as outlined verbally would effectively remove the relative disadvantage Washington had imposed on Beijing in recent years.
In the case of aluminium, Canada dominates imports to the US. Its total imports to the US, according to Department of Commerce figures, are almost 10 times that of any other importing country — and twice as much as the next nine most prolific importers combined.
France warns US against trade war tariffs
France has warned the United States against a trade war with the European Union, adding that the EU is ready to respond to tariffs placed upon member states.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there was "no hesitation when it comes to defending our interests."
In an interview with broadcaster TF1 after President Trump announced that the US would impose 25% levies on steel and aluminium products, Barrot said the EU would adopt the same course that it had during his previous term.
"Of course. It's not a surprise," said Barot. "This is already what Donald Trump did in 2018."
"At that time we replicated. So we will replicate again this time," he said. "No one has an interest in entering into a trade war with the European Union."
The tariffs on steel and aluminium imports are the latest in a string of trade duties announced by Trump that have raised fears of a global trade war.
