The US President will announce the latest tariffs in accordance with trade measures directed in Canada, Mexico and China.
US President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, as well as mutual tariffs on countries that levelle US goods obligations.
Trump said on Sunday that he officially announced tariffs on steel and aluminum the following day, and that he would announce anti-sales taxes later in the week.
Trump said he did not specify which countries will be subject to retaliatory tariffs, but would not affect all countries.
“In a very simple way, if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump told Air Force 1 reporters.
“If they’re charging us 130% and we’re not charging them anything, it’s not going to stay that way,” Trump said.
According to data from the US government and the US Steel Institute, Canada is the leading US steel supplier, followed by Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam.
Canada is also the top exporter of aluminum to the US, along with other major suppliers including China, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
“Canadian steel and aluminum support major U.S. industries from defense, shipbuilding and automobiles,” Canadian Minister of Innovation François Philippe Champagne said in a post in X.
“This makes North America more competitive and safe. We will continue to stand up for Canada, workers and industry.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was planning to talk to Trump and would raise the issue.
“We will continue to argue about Australia’s national interests for the US administration, and we believe this is also in the US national interests, Albanese told Congress.
According to UN trade data, Australia exported about $237 million worth of steel and iron to the United States in 2023, and the following year it exported about $275 million worth of aluminum.
Trump’s latest tariff threat comes after plans to impose a 25% tariff on all goods in Canada and Mexico last month and a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
The US President agrees to delay Canada and Mexico’s actions after the two countries pledge to do more to stop the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented immigration across the US border. did.
Trump’s tariffs on China, which announced retaliatory tariffs on US exports, came into effect Tuesday.
The US president proposed earlier this month that the European Union will next line up to face tariffs, and the bloc argued that it will import “look almost nothing” from the US while the US takes “everything.”
“The EU is really in line, Trump told reporters on February 2.
“I don’t have a timetable, but I’m coming soon.”
Asian stock markets have had a mixed reaction to Trump’s latest comments. Japan’s Nikko 225 fell by 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hangsen and China’s SSE composites increased by 1.2% and 0.3% at 02:30 GMT, respectively.