‘STEEL IS STEEL’

Trump Announces Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

Mexico and Canada are exempt while NAFTA negotiations continue.

President Trump signed an order imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum Thursday, but said the U.S. is "holding off" on tariffs for Mexico and Canada. The tariffs are set at 25 percent for foreign steel and 10 percent for foreign aluminum, with the possibility of partners “removing” tariffs through talks. In remarks, the president stressed the country’s need to “protect and build steel and aluminum” for national security purposes, while maintaining “flexibility and cooperation with friends of ours.” He also said that the tariffs would protect jobs in America, and stop the “desolation of entire communities” due to foreign “dumping” of the metals. Trump claimed that before the tariffs, the U.S. was being treated “very badly” by other countries, politicians, and presidents. Shortly after the announcement, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), channeling nearly all GOP lawmakers, said in a statement that he disagreed with Trump’s decision, adding: “We will continue to urge the administration to narrow this policy so that it is focused only on those countries and practices that violate trade law.”