Trump Unveils New Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Imports
Local Editor
US President Donald Trump announced a swathe of new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US, in the latest protectionist demarche from the White House that will raise already heightened fears of a global trade war.
On Thursday, Trump said that steel imports face a 25 per cent levy while aluminum will be marked up by 10 per cent from next week.
The move was unveiled at a meeting of US metal industry representatives.
"You'll have protection for a long time. You'll have to regrow your industries, that's all I'm asking," Trump told them.
"People have no idea how badly our country has been mistreated."
Earlier during the presidential election campaign in 2016, Trump continually railed against what he claimed was the dumping of cheap Chinese steel on American markets - and promised to take retaliatory action to protect US steel jobs.
For its part, China indicated that it could retaliate against US tariffs on its steel exports by targeting imports of American agricultural produce to China, such as soybeans.
Trump's latest move follows a decision in January by the US to impose tariffs of up to 50 per cent on imports of washing machines and solar panels from China and South Korea.
The US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told the World Economic Forum last month that the US was "coming to the ramparts" to protect itself, in what he said was an already raging global trade war.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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