UPDATE: Trump imposes 25% tariffs on all steel, aluminum imports

"Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands," Trump declared from the Oval Office. "We need to create in order to protect our country's future and the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing and production," he said.

Trump emphasized that there would be no exceptions for the new tariffs, stating that the move was aimed at "simplifying" the trade rules. The tariffs are set to take effect on March 12.

The country's total steel imports increased by 2.5% on year to reach 28.86 million net tons (NT) in 2024, with finished steel imports at 22.5 million NT, up 3.7% on year, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The estimated market share for finished steel imports in U.S. stood at 21% for last December and is projected at 23% for the full year 2024, the AISI predicts.

Market analysts expressed concerns that U.S. domestic production may struggle to compensate for the expected decline in imports due to the tariffs. According to the latest data from the World Steel Association (WSA), the U.S. produced 79.5 million tonnes of crude steel in 2024.

The announcement also fueled risk-averse sentiment in global commodities markets, pushing gold prices higher. Over the past five days, XAU/USD Gold Spot prices on the Commodity Exchange Inc. have risen 2.24%, closing at $2,908.18 as of 5:00 PM (UTC+8) on February 11.

However, some Chinese steel analysts see a limited impact of the tariffs on Chinese steel transshipments. Since the tariffs apply broadly to all steel imports, price increases across the board may ultimately benefit U.S. domestic steel rather than disproportionately affecting Chinese exports.

Written by Adele Pan, panqinjie@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com