Trump’s 50% Steel Tariffs Take Effect Even As Trade Negotiations Remain Underway

Washington’s 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have now gone into effect, doubling from the previous 25% levy, even as the Trump administration waits for “best offers” from the U.S.’s trading partners.

The order, signed by President Trump, went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. The administration noted in its order that the lower 25% levy did not do enough to protect the strategic interests of the U.S.

In his directive, President Trump said the new 50% tariffs will provide greater support to the U.S. steel industry.

“Increasing the previously imposed tariffs will provide greater support to these industries and reduce or eliminate the national security threat posed by imports of steel and aluminum articles and their derivative articles,” the Trump administration noted in its directive.

This comes at a time when the administration is in talks with several trading partners, including the European Union, to negotiate trade deals.

Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade commissioner, pointed out that steel tariffs are not conducive to maintaining the momentum. “Our goal is to maintain the momentum,” he said while expressing regret over the Trump administration’s decision.

He urged the U.S. and the EU to come together to address the problem of overcapacity, while the Trump administration stated that the steel tariff hike to 50% from 25% was necessary for national security reasons.

“I believe we can achieve a positive result. But we are also ready to defend our interests and do the utmost to rebalance our trade relationship,” he added.

The Trump administration has set July 9th as the deadline for the end of its ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs pause, which was announced 90 days earlier, on April 9.

Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, at the time expected that there would be 90 trade deals in these 90 days.

However, the Trump administration has announced only one trade deal so far, with its close ally, the U.K.

Amid these concerns, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, was up 0.19% at the time of writing.

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