Trump’s surprise tariffs horrified markets, Republicans, and America’s closest ally
Donald Trump has been obsessed with “fixing” US trade since he took to the campaign trail. Today, he unexpectedly announced that he’d use a blunt instrument to protect US steel and aluminum manufacturers—massive tariffs, on imports from all countries, for an indefinite period of time.
While Trump has often targeted China in his talk about unfair trade deals, the tariffs do the most economic damage to the US’s closest ally, Canada.
The US will be rolling out 25% import tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum as soon as next week, Trump told industry CEOs and reporters gathered at the White House. “We’ll be imposing tariffs on steel imports, and tariffs on aluminum imports. And you’re going to see a lot of good things happen,” he said.
The tariffs will last for an “unlimited” period, he said in response to questions. “Twenty-five percent for steel. It will be 10 percent for aluminum,” Trump said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average initially dropped over 500 points (more than 2%) on the news before closing down 420 points.
Canadian officials immediately reacted with alarm. Any US tariffs or quotas on steel or aluminum would be “unacceptable,” international trade minister Francois P-Champagne told reporters. “Should restrictions be imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum products, Canada will take responsive measures to defend its trade interests and workers,” Canadian foreign minster Chrystia Freeland said.
Canada is by far the largest supplier of both steel and aluminum in the US.
Donald Trump has been obsessed with “fixing” US trade since he took to the campaign trail. Today, he unexpectedly announced that he’d use a blunt instrument to protect US steel and aluminum manufacturers—massive tariffs, on imports from all countries, for an indefinite period of time.
While Trump has often targeted China in his talk about unfair trade deals, the tariffs do the most economic damage to the US’s closest ally, Canada.
The US will be rolling out 25% import tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum as soon as next week, Trump told industry CEOs and reporters gathered at the White House. “We’ll be imposing tariffs on steel imports, and tariffs on aluminum imports. And you’re going to see a lot of good things happen,” he said.
The tariffs will last for an “unlimited” period, he said in response to questions. “Twenty-five percent for steel. It will be 10 percent for aluminum,” Trump said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average initially dropped over 500 points (more than 2%) on the news before closing down 420 points.
Canadian officials immediately reacted with alarm. Any US tariffs or quotas on steel or aluminum would be “unacceptable,” international trade minister Francois P-Champagne told reporters. “Should restrictions be imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum products, Canada will take responsive measures to defend its trade interests and workers,” Canadian foreign minster Chrystia Freeland said.
Canada is by far the largest supplier of both steel and aluminum in the US.
https://qz.com/1219606/trump-trade-war-trumps-surprise-trade-tariffs-horrify-markets-republicans-and-canada/