Trump announces new customs fees for Monday

Trump announces new customs fees for Monday

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Sunday Air Force One to Journalists on Sunday that he would announce a 25 percent customs fee on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday.

Details on the new tariffs

"We will also announce the steel tums on Monday," said Trump, adding: "Steel, which comes to the United States, is occupied by 25 percent tariffs." He also confirmed in the aluminum: "This also applies to aluminum."

further developments announced

Trump also announced that on Tuesday or Wednesday he would hold a separate press conference to announce massive new counter-duties that could correspond to the tariffs of other countries on US goods. "Quite simply: if you demand money to us, we will also ask you to do money," said Trump.

unclear details

Details about the scope of the new tariffs or their entry into force have not yet been given. It is unclear whether the new steel and aluminum tariffs apply in addition to existing tariffs that have been raised to exports from countries such as China.

former tariffs

As early as 2018, a 25 percent customs on steel and a 10 percent customs on aluminum was introduced during his previous term, but he raised it again for Mexico and Canada the following year.

reaction Chinas

Last week Trump introduced a 10 percent customs to all of the China imported, in addition to the existing tariffs on Chinese products. China reacted quickly by introducing tariffs to some chips and metals and initiating investigations against Google and the manufacturer of the brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.

Temporing in tariffs

Trump already began to reduce these tariffs by exposing the tariffs to all goods worth $ 800 or less until the trading authority can develop a system to collect these difficult to follow. He also released the 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada until March 1st.

steel consumption in the USA

Despite its transformation of a economy geared towards the production, the United States still consumes tens of million tons of steel every year. This steel supplies industries such as the automotive industry, the aerospace, oil production as well as construction and infrastructure, including streets and bridges.

origin of steel imports

Canada and Mexico are the largest and third largest steel exporters to the USA. Canada now makes up almost a quarter of the steel imported by weight in the USA, while Mexico is about 12 percent, as official data from the American Iron and Steel Institute, an industry association, show.

decline in steel imports

Overall, steel imports to the United States fell by 27 percent between 2017, the year before the customs increases, and in 2019, the first full year after the introduction of tariffs. However, part of this decline is due to declining steel consumption. The domestic steel production rose during this period, but only reached about two thirds of the decline in imports. Despite the competitive disadvantage that the domestic steel industry experienced by the tariffs, production last year fell by about 2 percent compared to 2023 and almost 10 percent compared to a decade ago.

Source: cnn