Trump imposes 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum

CNN
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The US president Donald Trump imposed on Monday a 25% tariff on all imports of steel and aluminum to the United States without exceptions or exemptions.

Although the United States obtains most of its steel in Canada, Brazil and Mexico, tariffs are largely directed (although indirectly) to China.

The United States imports very little steel directly from China, by far the largest steel producer in the world. Steel tariffs of 25% initiated in the first Trump administration and continued by former president Joe Biden resulted in US importers moved to other sources.

However, Chinese steel reaches the United States. Part is bought by foreign countries and forwarded to the USA and part is poorly labeled and relieved through several channels.

A Trump administration official said that new tariffs on steel, although they remain at 25%, were designed to eliminate gaps and numerous exemptions that have led some importers to play with the system. For example, the official said that some countries will import semi -bred steel, make it a slightly more finished product and send it to the United States to avoid tariffs.

While he was aboard the Air Force One on Sunday, Trump told journalists that he was planning the announcement of steel and aluminum and intended to hold a press conference this week to introduce new reciprocal tariffs.

Last week, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports to the United States, adding to existing tariffs on China. In retaliation, China quickly imposed tariffs on certain chips and metals.

However, Trump has begun to make some of these measures more flexible, including the suspension of tariffs on assets valued at US $ 800 or less that enter the United States until the Department of Commerce can develop a monitoring system. He also suspended his 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada at least until March 1.

Aileen Graef from CNN contributed to this report.