Explainer | Steel, cars, copper: the growing list of US import tariffs by category, not country
US President Donald Trump has targeted numerous sectors for levies, saying those would help spur domestic manufacturing
US President Donald Trump increased tariffs this week on imports from 20 countries with duties of 25 to 40 per cent, making waves in Asia where most of the target countries are located.
While those country-by-country outcomes have captured much of Trump’s trade spotlight, the US has also raised tariffs on a series of product sectors – in some cases, made anywhere in the world – affecting producers from China to Canada. Copper was the latest target this week.
The US now levies tariffs on the following imports, or is studying whether to add them:
Steel and aluminium
Washington imposed 50 per cent tariff on imports of the two metals in early June, doubling an earlier rate. Steel and aluminium derivatives are also on the list.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick had advised Trump that “steel articles are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States”, the White House said in a June 3 statement.
Britain received an exemption from the 50 per cent rate on May 8, paying 25 per cent instead, as part of a preliminary trade deal between London and Washington. The 50 per cent rate could kick in if Britain and the US fail to reach a final deal by this week.
Automobiles, auto parts
The tariff is set at 25 per cent with a discount through April 2027 on parts for autos assembled in the US, all effective since April 3. Lutnick again found that automobiles and certain parts were being imported “in such quantities and under such circumstances” as to hamper national security.