US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would impose new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the US, excluding existing metal obligations, further escalating his trade policy.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to the NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans, Trump stated that the new metal tariffs would be announced on Monday.
He also mentioned that he would announce reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday, to take immediate effect, applying them to all countries and adjusting according to the tariffs imposed by each nation.
“And very simply, if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said regarding the reciprocal tariff plan.
The largest sources of steel imports to the US are Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, followed by South Korea and Vietnam, according to data from the government and the American Iron and Steel Institute.
By a wide margin, Canada, with its vast hydroelectric resources, is the largest supplier of primary aluminum metal to the US, accounting for 79% of total imports in the first 11 months of 2024.
Trump then claimed that he was committed to buying and controlling Gaza, but might hand over some areas to other Middle Eastern countries to assist with reconstruction.
During his trip to New Orleans, Trump declared February 9 as “Bay of America Day” and signed the declaration aboard “Air Force One,” as his plane flew over those waters.
Mexico argues that the US cannot legally change the name of the Bay because UN regulations dictate that a country’s sovereign territory extends only up to 12 nautical miles from its coastline.
