In a world in harmony and concord, the leaders should aspire to make their countries bloom but without harming the one next door. Moreover, the good of others could be the good of all. But we are in 2025, and that philosophy is garbage for the United States. The Republican President wants to “make America (sic) big again” but not alone, but hurting the rest, even its commercial, defensive or diplomatic allies.
This is what is extracted from the new tuned of revealed this morning by the Republican, an advertisement made on the most atypical stage possible :. Trump has said that he will announce on Monday the imposition of 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum -including those of Canada and Mexico, which last week in the general commercial punishment announced by Washington -, as well as other import tariffs Later in the week. “Reciprocal tariffs” are called, and this is an attack on the totality, to any country and any matter.
“Any steel that enters the United States will have a 25%tariff,” journalists told the Air Force One while flying to the Super Bowl. Then added the aluminum. And enlarged the order with the reciprocal. “It’s very simple. If they charge us, we charge them,” he argued. These tariffs will be “almost immediately”, tomorrow or last. Where another country has imposed tariffs on American goods, there will be slap back. “If they are charging us 130% and we don’t charge them anything, it won’t continue,” he argues.
It is risky because the US depends on aluminum imports, mainly from Canada, the United Arab Emirates and China, to meet the vast majority of their demand. Steel imports represent a smaller portion of consumption, but are vital for sectors that depend on special degrees that are not manufactured in the country, including energy companies, from eolic developers to oil perforators.
In the case of steel, they are Canada, Mexico, Brazil and South Korea the main US suppliers abroad. Many buyers and steel and aluminum vendors hoped to have at least until March to prepare for any tariff implementation, he maintains. Some oil companies obtained exclusions from metal tariffs during Trump’s first mandate and expect to see something similar in the details, black about white.
Trump’s comments are the last example of his willingness to threaten, and in some cases to impose, import taxes. The tariffs are arriving long before in their presidency that during their previous four years in the oval office, when he prioritized tax cuts and deregulation. Nor is it new, it was known about his obsession with the issue because since he imposed 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% to aluminum in 2018, an order that maintained his successor, although with exceptions.
Trump has alternately said that he sees import taxes as tools to force concessions on issues such as immigration, but also as a source of income to help close the government budget deficit.
The financial markets fell on Friday after Trump said for the first time that he would impose reciprocal tariffs, today confirmed. The prices of the actions also fell after a measure of the feeling of the consumer then declined, in large part because many respondents cited the tariffs as a growing concern. The survey also found that Americans expect inflation to increase in the coming months due to tariffs.
That is what Trump promised that he was going to fight and was the Biden Achilles heel, the price of basic goods. If the president continues with his reciprocal tariff plans, concerns will be revived that his economic policies could trigger a new increase in inflation within the US economy and beyond.
Steel rolls in the Hyundai plant in Dangjin (South Korea), in an image of 2011.
The effects
Metal import tariffs are generally defended by some key unions in the US and by some national steel and aluminum producers, which applaud Trump’s protectionism in the sector. They already did it in the first mandate. However, there is a real risk of increasing the costs of inputs for a wide range of American manufacturers, as the newspaper alerts .
The announcement occurs at a time when the American steel industry seeks to recover from its worst year since Trump’s first mandate. National steel manufacturers have complained that a new import of imports has affected their production gains and figures.
In 2023, the United States imported 82.1 billion dollars of steel and iron and exported 43.3 billion dollars. It also imported $ 27.4 billion of aluminum and exported $ 14.3 billion. The new president has insisted that tariffs would help with their efforts to allow Nippon Steel to invest in Us Steel, after blocking the previous acquisition attempt of the Japanese rival.
The new tariffs on metals could re -shake global financial markets, which have been rising in recent weeks when the US president threatened United States commercial partners with additional tariffs.
It rains on wet
Trump, last night, did not offer details about steel and aluminum tariffs, or reciprocal tariffs. He had previously threatened with 25% import taxes over all the assets of Canada and Mexico, although he paused for 30 days just a week ago. At the same time, he proceeded to add 10% tariffs to all imports from China. Beijing’s response has entered into force tonight. He already announced on February 4 tariffs from 10 % to 15 % to certain US products as of today, after the additional taxes of 10 % imposed by Trump imposed.
The Republican clarified that blow, saying that he would also delay tariffs on the millions of small packages – often fast fashion firms such as Temu and Shein, very popular and cheap – until US customs officials can find a way to impose them . Until now, small packages were exempt from tariffs. Trump did not clarify last night whether the new metal imports of China will face or not double tariffs, who join what has already announced last week.
The Trump general tariff ambition scale is still clear, actually. His willingness to turn has sometimes reinforced the perception that the new president is using tariffs mainly as a negotiation tool, but not as much as a real, tangible threat. He told CNN a source of his cabinet last week when talking about Mexico and Canada. Dispoglorying that.
The tycoon has anticipated that it will also impose tariffs on goods such as pharmaceutical products, oil and semiconductors and said it is considering imposing tariffs on imports from the European Union. “Absolutely,” was his reaction when the press asked. But he has not given details about it.
However, he has also alternated between a hard speech against Beijing and signs that he wants to work with President Xi Jinping in search of a more balanced trade. The US president has ordered that an agreement signed in 2020, known as phase one agreement, is re -evaluated, suggesting that tariff conversations with China could be extended. What speech do we stay with?
The president has adopted tariffs as a centerpiece of his attempt to redo the US economy, reduce commercial deficits and find new sources of income to help fulfill his fiscal agenda. However, the measures threaten to cause economic ravages, and economists say that tax Trump has predicted.
The Trump administration and its allies say that the border security measures promised by Mexico and Canada are already a victory for the president’s approach. “We have seen many admiration samples when this was announced, but we have also seen immediate results from Mexico and Canada,” said Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s commercial advisors.
Trump’s new statements caused immediate concern of some commercial partners. South Korea has convened an emergency meeting to see the scope of what was announced, China has warned that “protectionism has no way out, there are no winners in commercial and tariff wars”, while, although he has noticed that he has not received Notification of tariffs, which qualifies as “illegal and counterproductive.” The European Executive added that “the EU does not see any justification for the imposition of tariffs on their exports” and that it will react “to protect the interests of companies, workers and European consumers against unjustified measures.”
Until the nothing suspicious of going against the US Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, has called a commercial war on Monday because “everyone would lose” as a consequence of the fall of economic activity and effects indirect that a protectionist policy entails, which sometimes “are absolutely unsuspected.” “The imposition of tariffs is a vicious circle, as in the thirties [del siglo XX]which aggravated the great depression, “.” It is the most complex situation from the Covid, “he warns.
Now they are about to see the details of the proposal and the responses of those affected but one thing is safe: the commercial war of multiple fronts is already here and does not have a month ago that Trump took possession of the position.
