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Aluminum and Steel were among the first tariffs to be adopted during the first term of President Donald Trump. It is expected to revive these measures on Saturday, which would affect millions of tons of imported metal.
Now they rely on foreign supplies to meet the demand for metals used in construction and for the production of vehicles, technologies and military equipment. His closest trade partners are also among the best sources of steel and aluminum imports.
Consumption of steel in the United States was about 93 million tons in 2023, according to American geological research, with net imports of 13% of that demand.
Last year, Canada, Brazil and Mexico were the main three sources of imported steel, according to the US trade department.
The American Steel Industry comes out of its worst year from Trump’s first term of office. Homemade steel mills say the renewed move of imports harm to obtain and production.
When it comes to aluminum, metal more value than steel, the US has consumed about 4 million tons in 2023, and net imports make up 44% of this total number. Canada was a source of 56% of aluminum imports, according to the research by Morgan Stanley.
Trump said the tariffs could help US companies increase domestic production. For metals, at least, the construction of new capacity will not come quickly, according to Morgan Stanley.
“Making and increasing new solutions/mills can take three or more years,” said analysts Morgan Stanley Carlos de Alba and Justin Ferrer in a report this week. “So, any imported tariffs applied to metals or mined products is likely to result in higher domestic prices for local customers of these materials.”
Trump told reporters on Friday that copper tariffs would take a little longer than those for Aluminum and Steel. Now they are a net importer of copper again, with foreign supplies consisting of about 36% of domestic refined demand in 2023, according to Morgan Stanley. More than a third of the total import of copper came from Canada and Mexico.
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