After first postponing an official announcement regarding the Section 232 investigation that was scheduled at the last minute for this morning, Donald Trump said he would formally sign a trade measure next week that would include "stiff and sweeping" tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. According to a report from the New York TImes, "it is unclear whether those would apply to all imports or be targeted toward specific countries."
Previously, a Reuters report said that Trump had invited several US steel and aluminum executives to the White House on Thursday, March 1, to announce tariffs on steel and aluminum, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the issue. Meanwhile, according to a Bloomberg report, Trump wants to announce tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum from all countries, it is also possible that some countries may be granted exemptions.
On February 16, the US Department of Commerce released the recommendations in its Section 232 investigation; a blanket tariff of 24 percent on all steel products from all countries, a duty of 53 percent on 12 countries with a quota for all other countries equal to 100 percent of their 2017 exports to the US, or a quota for all countries equal to 63 percent of each country’s 2017 exports to the US.
