The Trump administration raised tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday as President Donald Trump and his administration delved into trade policies that have shaken financial markets.
US allies such as the European Union responded like criticism and mutual tariffs h. Earlier on Wednesday, the EU announced that $28 billion for a wide range of US goods imported into Europe, including boats, motorcycles and alcohol, was $28 billion.
President Trump announced tariffs last month, and the White House said Wednesday there were no exceptions.
“President Trump has once again used the world’s highest and largest leverage of the US economy to bring victory to the Americans,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
The European Commission called the new US tariffs “unjust” and said taxation would begin on April 1 and additional measures would be introduced in mid-April.
President Trump has suggested he would like to negotiate a broader trade deal with the UK, but the UK has not escaped taxes. UK Secretary of Business and Commerce Jonathan Reynolds called taxation a “disappointment,” but said his country is negotiating a wider deal “with a focus on a practical approach.”
The European response reflects the response from another Canadian, a traditional close alliance and trading partner in America, where Trump had already imposed a 25% metal tax.
Canada, the top US export market, was expected to see new tariffs rise in a short time. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would jump to 50% in response to the threat of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and would charge a 25% extra charge on electricity imports to the US along with the first US hike.
A conversation between Ford and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick prevented this.
In a joint statement with Lutnick posted on X, Ford said on Thursday they will discuss the update to the US-Canada Free Trade Act to meet with US trade representatives.
In Monday’s Truth Social Post, Trump called Canada a longtime “tax abuser” and said beyond metals that “the US will no longer subsidize Canada,” and that “we don’t need your car, don’t need your energy, we’ll find it right away.”
Other longtime US allies were unable to escape either.
Australia wanted the same exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs it received during the first Trump administration, but said it would not retaliate.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the tariff “completely unfair,” but added that the mutual tariffs they impose “will only boost prices for Australian consumers,” adding that Australia will not impose new tariffs on US goods.
Perhaps the most sharpest response comes from China, the world’s largest steel producer and the second largest economy, which was already slapped with a comprehensive 20% tariff when Trump took office, and announced new tariffs in return.
Beijing’s foreign ministry accused the US of violating World Trade Organization rules, saying “all necessary measures” are needed to protect its rights and interests.
“No one wins in trade wars or tariff wars. It’s a widely shared view of the international community,” spokesman Mao Ning said in a media briefing.