NewsHail
01 Jun 2025
President Donald Trump says the U.S. will double tariffs on steel and aluminum. The new rate will be 50%, up from 25%. It will start on Wednesday.
Trump spoke at a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He said this move will help U.S. steelmakers. It will also lower the country’s need for Chinese steel.
Trump also said that $14 billion will go into local steel plants. The money will come from a new deal between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. But he later said he had not seen or approved the final deal yet.
This is the latest move in Trump’s changing policy on tariffs since he returned to office in January.
“There will be no layoffs and no outsourcing,” Trump told the crowd. He said each U.S. steelworker will get a $5,000 bonus. The crowd, made up of many steelworkers, cheered loudly.
One worry among workers is how Japan will follow union rules on pay and hiring.
Trump began by saying he had "saved" U.S. Steel back in 2018 with his first steel tariffs.
But U.S. Steel has had falling sales and profits in recent years.
Trump said raising the tariff to 50% will help the company stay alive.
“At 50%, they can no longer get over the fence,” he said. “We are going to put Pennsylvania steel back into the heart of America.”
Steel making in the U.S. has dropped in recent years. China, India, and Japan now lead the world in steel production. The U.S. still imports about 25% of its steel. Trump is upset that much of it comes from Mexico and Canada.
His new tariff news comes while courts are still fighting over his past global tariffs. One court ordered a stop, but an appeals court let the tariffs stay for now.
The steel and aluminum tariffs are not part of the court case.
“It is a good day for steelworkers,” said JoJo Burgess. He is a union member and mayor of Washington, Pennsylvania. He was at Trump’s rally.
Burgess liked the idea of the U.S.-Japan steel deal. He said it could help young people get steel jobs. He remembered making good money after Trump’s first steel tariffs.
Burgess has always voted for Democrats. But he said, “I won’t go against anything that helps U.S. manufacturing.”
Still, Trump’s tariffs have caused problems around the world. They hurt trade and markets. They also damaged ties between the U.S. and many allies.
The U.S. and China are now in a trade fight. They keep adding new tariffs on each other’s goods.
On Friday, Trump said China broke a tariff deal made earlier this month. He gave no details.
A U.S. trade official later said China had not removed some trade barriers, as it had promised.
China replied with its own blame. It said the U.S. was treating China unfairly. It told the U.S. to stop “discriminatory restrictions.”
China makes more than half the world’s steel, based on 2022 data.
“If you don’t have steel, you don’t have a country,” Trump said. “We can’t ask China for steel to build our tanks.”
Trump also spoke more about the Nippon Steel deal. But he gave no new facts. U.S. Steel and Nippon have not said if a new deal is done.
Last year, U.S. Steel agreed to sell to Nippon for $15 billion. But President Biden blocked the deal. He said it was a risk to national security.
While campaigning, Trump said he was “totally against” U.S. Steel being sold to a foreign company. He said he would have “blocked it right away.”
The new deal is being called a “partnership.” But it is not clear who would own or run U.S. Steel.
White House staff said Trump got Japan to invest more in the U.S. They also said the U.S. government will help oversee steel plant work.
Reports say Japan will invest $14 billion over 14 months.
The companies also agreed to:
Keep U.S. ownership and leadership.
Not cut steel production for 10 years.
Let the U.S. government veto any cuts after that.
