The 25% duties come into force wanted by Trump on steel and aluminum

In a new phase of the war with duties between the United States and its commercial partners, the customs rates of 25% on steel and aluminum requested by Donald Trump have entered into force today, causing the response of the European Union and Beijing. The American president had already taxed the imports of steel and aluminum during his first term (2017-2021), but these new taxes are destined to be “without exception and without exemptions”, he assured when they were announced in early February. The declared goal of the whites of the White House is to protect the steel and stripes iron and stripes, which has seen its production decrease year after year due to the increasingly fierce competition, in particular by Asia.

China, the largest steel manufacturer in the world, replied promising to adopt “all the measures necessary to protect its legitimate rights and interests”. In reality, however, the American market is not the main outlet for Chinese exporters. “The United States actions seriously violate the rules” of the World Commerce Organization and “seriously damage the multilateral commercial system”, said a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Affairs. “There are no winners in commercial wars,” he stigmatized.

These new duties go beyond those imposed during Trump’s first term, as they also concern a wide range of transformed products. Canada, China, EU, Japan and Australia are interested. The European Commission has announced that it will impose duties on a series of American products, from boat to bourbon to motorcycles, starting from April 1st. The EU “expresses deep regret” for the measures adopted by President Trump, said the president of the Ursula von der Leyen commission, adding that the European response was “strong but proportionate”.

“The duties are harmful to companies and even worse for consumers – he explained – jobs are at stake. The prices will go up. In Europe and the United States,” he insisted, saying that he is ready for dialogue. The US customs rates are “totally unjustified”, said Australian Prime Minister, Albanian Anthony, after having failed to negotiate a last minute exemption.

For his part, London said he was “disappointed”, without however announcing any immediate countermeasure. The United States import about half of the steel and aluminum used in the country, intended for different industrial sectors such as automotive, aviation, petrochemical and basic consumption products such as canned products.

Since it came into office, Donald Trump has made ample use of duties, using them as a negotiation tool, as an incentive for companies that want to settle in the country and as a source of revenue for the federal treasure. Initially he targeted Canada and Mexico (25%) and China (10%), before increasing the percentage of 20%, accusing the three countries of not doing enough against the trafficking of Fenanyl, the powerful opioid that is causing a serious health crisis in the USA. But the Canadian and Mexican products imported to the United States were finally exempt and compliant with the specifications of the free trade-in-the-medical free-stage agreement (Cusma).

However, the duties on Chinese products have been maintained, pushing Beijing to announce retaliation, in particular against agricultural goods from the American states that voted largely for Trump. Yesterday the President of the United States also briefly threatened Canada to double the duties on steel and aluminum, before doing shortly after behind. Other raw materials, such as Canadian timber and dairy products, have also been threatened and, from January 20, Trump has repeatedly reiterated the intention of imposing duties on European imports.