US President Donald Trump has announced a fresh set of tariffs targeting all steel and aluminium imports. The US president ordered that all steel and aluminium imports be subjected to a 25 per cent import tax.
This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again… Our nation requires steel and aluminium to be made in America, not in foreign lands,” said Trump.
The new order is expected to affect Canada the most, with the US importing about 50 per cent of all its aluminium from Canada. Canada, Brazil and Mexico are the top three suppliers of aluminium to the US.
According to a report that was published by the CNN following the executive order, steel is a key component of everything from consumer goods such as “cars and appliances to such large scale infrastructure projects, such as skyscrapers, oil rigs and pipelines, bridges and roads. Aluminum also is a key components of such goods as cans of food and beverages, cars and commercial jets, as well as and key infrastructure such as high power electrical lines.”
“Tariffs could increase the cost of production of many if not all of those items because of the increased cost of the imported and domestic steel – and aluminum makers could raise the price of their products because of the reduced competition from low-priced imports,” the CNN reported.
However, the BBC reported that the US president noted that whereas the tariffs might result in a spike in prices, goods manufactured from these commodities would eventually be cheaper.
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“Ultimately it will be cheaper. It’s time for our great industries to come back to America…this is the first of many,” the BBC quoted the US president, who added that other tariffs could focus on pharmaceuticals and computer chips.
