Doubled US import tariffs on Stahl from Wednesday-Diepresse.com
From Wednesday, the tariffs for steel and aluminum increase to 50 percent. How the EU reacts is not yet clear.
According to the announcement by US President Donald Trump, doubled US import duties are to come into force on steel and aluminum. On the US night on Wednesday (6:01 a.m. CEST), the customs set then increases from 25 to 50 percent of the goods value. The US President wants to correct alleged trade weights with the tariffs and strengthen domestic industry. The measure is likely to make the import of appropriate products more difficult – and lead to higher prices.
Steel is important for the construction and auto industry. Aluminum and sheets are also used in the packaging industry. Customs have already increased the prices for the customers of these materials. The United States is buying around a quarter of its steel needs abroad, especially in Canada and Mexico. With aluminum, the proportion is even around 50 percent. In 2024, the main supplier Canada exported 3.2 million tons of aluminum to the USA.
USA is a net importer of steel
Customers of aluminum at physical markets in the USA pay the price at the London metal exchange plus a surcharge for transport costs and taxes, among other things. The price for the premium has increased by more than 120 percent this year. « The United States is a net importer of steel. Therefore we need imports to meet demand, » says the steel expert of the consulting firm Cru, Josh Spoores.
Higher steel and aluminum prices make the coffers ring for US producers such as Nucor. According to experts, the construction of new blast furnaces can take five years, probably even more – and therefore longer than Trump’s term of office. The US President has declared that the Japanese steel company Nippon Steel wanted to invest billions of billions for the modernization and expansion of the production of the Us Steel group, which he is targeting.
The Emirates Global aluminum group has announced that it would be an aluminum work in the United States – this would be the first of its kind since 1980. According to experts, the construction of new aluminum plants in the USA is also difficult because of the energy costs – high electricity prices were a reason why many blast furnaces were closed.
Criticism of EU Commission
How the EU will react to the new measure is still unclear. The EU Commission had sharply criticized the announcement of the US President at the weekend and threatened a reaction before the summer. According to the latest information, the talks continued and were described as « very constructive ». Another meeting between EU trade commissioner Maros Sevcovic and the US trade officer Jamieson Greer in Paris is planned this Wednesday. If Trump sticks to his decision, the EU could collect against tariffs at short notice. (APA/dpa/Reuters)
