United States President Donald Trump on Friday said that he was planning to double the tariffs on steel imports to protect the industry. He made the statement while addressing a rally of steel workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania asserting that the tariff would boost the national supply and reduce dependence on China.
Trump later posted on his Truth Social platform stating that the tariff on aluminum will also be doubled and the measures will come into effect on Wednesday.
The US President also announced that a partnership between US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel would invest $14 billion into steel production in the area. Further details of the partnership were not revealed.
While addressing the workers, Trump said that, "There will be no layoffs and no outsourcing whatsoever, and every US steelworker will soon receive a well deserved $5,000 bonus.” He further claimed that he “saved American Steel” from the 25 percent tariff he imposed during his first stint as president. "We don't want America's future to be built with shoddy steel from Shanghai - we want it built with the strength and the pride of Pittsburgh!,” he said.
We are once again going to put Pennsylvania steel into the backbone of America, like never before," he added further.
According to reports, the UK will be exempted from this tariff owing to the US-UK trade deal that was signed earlier, as reported by Sky News.
The move comes after a stay was granted on a trade court order that banned Trump’s “liberation day” taxes citing “overreach of authority.”
Several countries have been discussing trade deals with the United States, while nations like the UK have already entered an agreement.
The US had also reached an agreement with China in Geneva that led to a lowering of tariffs imposed from both sides. However, Trump has now claimed that China has “totally violated their agreement” with them.
