Trump to Impose Sweeping Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
In a hastily arranged meeting with industry executives
that stunned many inside the West Wing, Mr. Trump said he would formally sign the trade measures next week and promised they would be in effect “for a long period of time.” The action, which came against the wishes of Mr. Trump’s pro-trade advisers, would impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, effectively placing a tax on every foreign shipment of those metals into the United States.
Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian minister of foreign affairs, called any measure
that deemed Canadian trade a national security threat “entirely inappropriate.”
“Should restrictions be imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum products, Canada will
take responsive measures to defend its trade interests and workers,” she said.
But in recent weeks, a group of White House advisers who advocate a tougher posture on trade has been in ascendance, including Robert E. Lighthizer, the country’s top trade negotiator
and a former steel industry lawyer; Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary who led the metals investigation; and Peter Navarro, a trade skeptic who had been sidelined but is now in line for a promotion.
The departure of Mr. Porter, who organized weekly trade policy meetings and coordinated the trade advisers, has helped fuel a chaotic situation
that has descended into an all-out war among various trade advisers, people close to the White House said.
Mr. Trump’s announcement came despite months of heavy pushback from American companies
that use metals in their products, like automakers and food packagers, and foreign officials, who warned that tariffs would strain relations and could prompt retaliatory trade actions.