Washington DC - President plans to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Monday, prompting the threat of retaliation from Europe and a warning from China that there were no winners in a trade war.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl on February 9, 2025. © REUTERS
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday that the tariffs – which he will announce later Monday – will apply to "any steel coming into the United States," adding this will also affect aluminum.
Trump imposed similar tariffs during his 2017-2021 presidency to protect US industries, which he believed faced unfair competition from Asian and European countries.
While the European Commission said Monday it had not received any official notification of the tariffs, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the European Union will counter in kind and "replicate" any imposed.
"There is no hesitation when it comes to defending our interests," Barrot said during an interview with broadcaster TF1.
"We will react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures," the European Commission said in a statement.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a press conference responding to US President Donald Trump's orders to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports. © REUTERS
Canada – which Trump has already – is the largest source of steel and aluminum imports to the US, according to national trade data. Brazil, Mexico, and South Korea are also major steel providers.
But around 25% of European steel exports go to the US, according to consultants Roland Berger, who warned in a recent note that "any tax from the United States would hurt the European sector."
On Sunday, Trump also said he would announce "reciprocal tariffs" to match his government's levies to the rates charged by other countries on US products.
"Every country will be reciprocal," Trump said, adding that he would make a detailed announcement on the tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Trump has already shown his fondness for weaponizing the US' financial power, on key trade partners China, Mexico, and Canada soon after he took office.
The president against Canada and Mexico for a month after both countries vowed to step up measures to counter the entry of the drug fentanyl and the crossing of people without documentation into the US.
The tariffs against China went ahead, however, with products entering the US facing additional levies of 10% since Tuesday.
Beijing on certain US products such as coal and liquefied natural gas, which will come into play on Monday.
The new Chinese tariffs cover $14 billion worth of US goods, while the tariffs announced by Trump cover $525 billion worth of Chinese goods, according to Goldman Sachs.
On Monday, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated "there is no winner in a trade war and tariff war."
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that American consumers would suffer from tariffs imposed on Europe. © TERESA SUAREZ/Pool via REUTERS
Trump has also and said that he would soon announce unspecified "reciprocal tariffs."
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed in an interview aired Sunday to go head-to-head with Trump over his financial threats to Europe, though he said that the US should focus its efforts on China rather than the EU.
Macron also warned on CNN that Americans would feel the effects of any tariffs on Europe, saying they "will increase the costs and create inflation in the US."
In an otherwise friendly meeting Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump warned on exported goods if it fails to cut the US trade deficit with Japan to zero.
The trade deficit of the US – the world's largest economy – widened last year to nearly $920 billion.
Trump, who has promised a "new golden age" for the US, has insisted that the impact of any tariffs would be borne by foreign exporters without being passed on to American consumers, despite most experts saying the contrary.
But he did acknowledge after announcing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China earlier this month that Americans
Trump has wielded tariffs as a threat to achieve his wider policy goals, most recently when he said he would slap them on Colombia when it carrying deported migrants.
After a day-long showdown with Trump, the Colombian government , saying it would only take back migrants "with dignity."
