Overview

• President Trump announced on May 30 that tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will increase from 25 percent to 50 percent effective June 4 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
• A federal appeals court has temporarily stayed a US Court of International Trade ruling that blocked his global tariffs, allowing the new 50 percent rates to remain in force.
• Canada and Australia condemned the increase as unjustified economic self-harm; India’s $4.56 billion in metal exports to the US face stiffer competition under the higher levies.
• The American Iron and Steel Institute praised the move as a necessary defense against import surges, while the United Steelworkers union questioned the binding nature of guarantees in the Nippon Steel–US Steel investment deal.
• Britain is expected to remain exempt from the 50 percent rates under a recent US-UK trade agreement, though details of the quota mechanism have yet to be finalized.