The 50% tariff imposed upon steel and aluminium imports US president Donald Trump has come into effect just a day after the president signed an executive order escalating the ongoing global trade war.
The effectiveness of this new tariffs doubles the 25% introduced in March by the president.
However ,UK steel and aluminium imports would maintain the 25% following a trade deal signed between both countries last month.
Trump said on Tuesday that the tariffs were necessary to prevent dumping by foreign producers that would “threaten to impair the national security”.
Announcing the implementation of the tariffs, Trump wrote “The increased tariffs will more effectively counter foreign countries that continue to offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminium in the US market and thereby undercut the competitiveness of the United States steel and aluminium industries,”
The president announced his plan to double the tariffs during a rally at a Pennsylvania steel mill last week, promising to erect a “fence” around the domestic metals industry that would in effect lock out foreign producers.
“That means that nobody’s going to be able to steal your industry,” he told a jubilant crowd of steel workers on Friday.
“At 25 per cent, they can sort of get over that fence. At 50 per cent they can no longer get over the fence.”
The policy drew swift condemnation from Canada, the largest supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, where the industry warned in recent days of “mass disruption” and “catastrophic” job losses.
