EVS Metal has already weighed in regarding President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. If you haven’t yet read our blogs, you can read both parts by clicking here for part one, and here for part two. (Spoiler alert — we aren’t happy about them, and neither are most of those who are in some way involved with or impacted by the steel industry.)
The Fabricator recently published an article that picks off where we left off. Check out the summary below and read the entire article in its entirety at TheFabricator.com.
As trade war begins, supply chains get complicated
Following U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, Canada, Mexico, and European Union countries respond with their own tariffs on U.S. goods. Meanwhile, steel prices have stabilized, but further increases might be on the way.
Many thought President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico on national security grounds was merely a negotiating tactic to leverage concessions in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations. That no longer appears to be the case.
As of June 1, steel from the nation’s closest trading partners, along with the European Union and most of the rest of the world, is subject to a 25 percent tariff. Aluminum imports face a 10 percent tariff.
The hardline stance of the Trump administration is likely to have two immediate effects: to reduce the volume of imports and to increase prices on both foreign and domestic steel and aluminum products. In the months to come, absent any conciliatory action, retaliatory tariffs could put downward pressure on profits and job growth and take a significant toll on the U.S. economy, according to economic experts.
