As Trump inks documents to slam 25% tariff on steel, aluminum imports into US; retaliatory measures on US imports into China activated
US President Donald Trump has formally announced he will place a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports into the United States.
The president signed documents on Monday to impose the tariff on the two key metals.
Trump said the 25 percent tariff will be applied to all trading partners and that there will be no exceptions.
The tariff rate for aluminum imports will be raised from the current 10 percent to 25 percent.
The White House says the tariff will be imposed on March 12.
During Trump’s first term, steel imports from Mexico, Canada and Australia were exempted from additional tariffs. Duty-free quotas were granted to some countries, including Japan in 2022 during former US President Joe Biden’s term.
But these exceptional measures will be eliminated.
Trump said: “Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands, we need to create in order to protect our country’s future resurgence of US manufacturing and production.”
He also said, “a lot of businesses are going to be opening in the United States.”
Trump suggested that his administration is going to consider introducing tariffs on automobiles in addition to chips and pharmaceuticals among other imports.
China’s media say the country started countermeasures early on Monday against the additional tariffs placed on Chinese imports by the United States.
The Chinese government had announced that it would put a 15-percent tariff on US coal and liquefied natural gas, and it would also impose a 10-percent levy on goods such as crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine automobiles.
The measures are meant to counter the additional 10-percent tariffs placed on Chinese products by US President Donald Trump’s administration on February 4.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun did not elaborate on whether the countermeasures have already taken effect during a news conference on Monday.
He just reiterated China’s claims that there are no winners in tariff wars, and that they harm the interests of both peoples.
The spokesperson added what is needed now is not the unilateral imposition of tariffs but dialogue and discussions based on equality and mutual respect.
Meanwhile, Chinese media reported a Chinese business delegation, including representatives from petrochemical and machinery manufacturing industries, will visit Kazakhstan from Monday.
The media also say China will continue seeking markets in Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. The country apparently aims to mitigate the impact Trump’s tariffs may have on domestic firms.