US to double steel, aluminum tariffs to 50%

NEW YORK -- US President Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent, a move aimed at further shielding the domestic industry from foreign competition.

Trump made the announcement during a visit to a US Steel plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, where a 14-billion-dollar partnership between US Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel was unveiled.

"We are going to be imposing a 25 percent increase. We are going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America," Trump said, as quoted by local media. "(This) will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody's going to get around that."

Later, Trump confirmed the decision in a post on his Truth Social platform, stating that the new rate would take effect on June 4. "Our steel and aluminum industries are coming back like never before."

The Trump administration imposed sweeping 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on March 12, drawing sharp criticism from the US auto industry. Canada responded with immediate retaliatory measures, while the European Union also announced counter-tariffs but ultimately withdrew them.

Local media noted that the tariff hike could lead to higher prices for metal-based products, including automobiles, canned goods and industrial equipment.