Trump ratchets up steel tariffs to 50%

One of America’s most storied industries is getting a massive boost from President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs push — at the potential cost of a broader slowdown elsewhere in the U.S. economy.

One of America’s most storied industries is getting a massive boost from President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs push — at the potential cost of a broader slowdown elsewhere in the U.S. economy.

Trump signed an executive order increasing the already substantial 25% duties on steel imports he first set in March to 50%. He signaled last week that the tariff rate hike was coming. It went into effect at midnight Wednesday.

“We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50% — the tariffs on steel into the United States of America,” Trump said Friday at a rally in Pennsylvania, “which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States.”

The new 50% duties also affect aluminum products.

The tariffs on steel, along with those on imported automobiles and auto parts, have been imposed under authorities not affected by recent court decisions that cast doubt on the president’s powers to enact trade barriers.