President Donald Trump plans to introduce a 25% blanket tariff on steel and aluminum imports entering the U.S., he said in a press briefing on Air Force One Sunday.
“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” Trump said. “Aluminum, too.”
On Sunday, Trump also told reporters that he plans to announce “reciprocal” tariffs in a news conference this week. The president said such tariffs would go into effect almost immediately and would potentially impact any U.S. trading partner.
“Every country will be reciprocal,” Trump said, before noting that not all countries would be affected the same, particularly those with which the U.S. has similar tariffs.
The president said he would be announcing the details of the steel and aluminum tariffs on Monday, and confirmed that Mexico and Canada would not be exempt from the new import fees.
Last week, after Trump announced new tariffs on the two countries on Feb. 1, the U.S. agreed to a 30-day pause on implementation with both Mexico and Canada.
Trump also targeted steel and aluminum imports in his first term, levying 25% tariffs on five classifications of steel articles and a 10% tariff on six types of aluminum products in 2018. Although he originally excluded the European Union, Canada and Mexico from those duties, he later removed the exemption.
