Getty images
President Donald Trump has ordered an import tax of 25% on everything in steel and aluminum entering the United States into a major expansion of existing trade barriers.
The prices, which will increase metal import costs in the United States, come despite the warnings of reprisals of certain political leaders in Canada – the largest American metal supplier – as well as other countries.
US companies that depend on imports have also raised concerns, but Trump said his plans would stimulate domestic production.
He warned that there would be no exception, saying that he “simplifying” the rules.
The equity price of the main American stereas increased on Monday in anticipation of the order, the price of Cleveland clifies jumping almost 20%. The prices of steel and aluminum have also jumped.
But the answer in a large part of the rest of the market was silent, reflecting questions about Trump’s seriousness on its plans, taking into account its history of postponement of prices or the negotiation of exemptions to the rules.
In 2018, during his first mandate, he announced 25% prices on steel and 15% in aluminum, but finally negotiated sculptures for many countries, including Australia, Canada and Mexico.
“This is a kind of replay of 2018,” said Douglas Irwin, professor of economics at Dartmouth College. “The biggest question is uncertainty as to whether it is a negotiation tactic or if it simply does not want to speak with other countries and really wants to help the steel industry in this way . “
The United States is the world’s largest importer in steel, with Canada, Brazil and Mexico as three main suppliers.
Canada alone represented more than 50% of aluminum imported in the United States last year.
If the prices stick, they should have the most important impact on Canada, which sends a large part of the steel and aluminum it makes abroad, the vast majority of the United States.
Before the announcement, the Prime Minister of Ontario, Doug Ford, whose province shelters a large part of Canada’s steel production, accused Trump of “moving goal posts and constant chaos, putting our economy in danger “.
The group of lobbies of Canadian steel manufacturers called on the government to retaliate against the United States “immediately”, while Kody Blois, a leading deputy for the Liberal Party Director of Canada, said that his country was looking for means to reduce its trade relations with the United States.
“This is completely upset which was a very solid partnership,” he told Tim Franks on the BBC Newshour before the official order. “In just a few weeks, he (Trump) completely changed the dynamics – the genius is out of the bottle.”
Last week, the Trump ordered import duties of 25% on all Canadian and Mexican products, to delay this plan for 30 days. He also brought new American samples of 10% on all Chinese goods in the United States, which caused reprisals from China.
In addition to the international Trump’s counterpoupouss faced concerns about the effect in the United States, where many manufacturers in the United States use steel and aluminum in their products and are now faced with the probability of additional costs .
In the first term of Trump, the prices, despite many exemptions, increased the average price of steel and aluminum in the United States by 2.4% and 1.6% respectively, according to the International Commerce Commission American.
Economists have also linked the prices to wider job losses in manufacturing – up to 75,000 by an estimate.
Stephen Moore, who advised Trump’s campaign on economic issues in 2016 and is currently a senior member of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington -based Thinktany bank, said that he did not think that steel prices and Aluminum was an effective way to create jobs, noting the experience of the first term.
He said that if Trump was “seriously serious” about trade, he thought that the plan was “to attract the rest of the world’s attention”.
“Above all that Donald Trump does in Washington is a negotiation tactic,” he said.
Nick Iacvella, spokesperson for the coalition for a prosperous America, which represents the steelworks and supports the prices, said that his group is most concerned with an increase in steel imports in Mexico, above the agreed levels in 2019.
But he noted that Canada is sending much more goods to the United States that it may be a trade deficit that was a key problem for Trump.
“There are still imbalances with Canadian and American trade relations that should be treated,” he said.
He added: “I do not think they plan to take a hammer approach to a size, but I think that early, at least, at least, I think of what the president says … (is) these Two countries (Canada and Mexico) abuse their relationship with the United States and we are going to do something.
