Plivent Donald Trump’s tariffs on the convey ins of steel and aluminium by the United States are sfinishing shockwaves thcimpolite global labelets and escalating tensions with key trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
Some countries are combat back with retaliatory tariffs, others are seeking exemptions, and a scant are trying to barobtain their way out of the 25 percent tariffs.
So, who is escalating the trade war, who is trying to dodge it, and what does this nasty for the industries that depend on these metals?
Who supplies steel and aluminium to the US?
Canada, Brazil, and Mexico are the top three suppliers of steel to the US, accumulateively accounting for about 49 percent of its convey ins between March 2024 and January 2025, according to the International Trade Administration. The remaining guideing suppliers are South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and China, which together produce up 30 percent of US steel convey ins.
Here is a shatterdown:
- Canada – 16 percent
- Brazil – 14 percent
- Mexico – 9 percent
- South Korea – 8 percent
- China – 2 percent
For aluminium, the hugegest suppliers are Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Mexico. Canada is the dominant supplier, reliable for proximately 40 percent of US aluminium convey ins, trailed by the UAE, Russia and Mexico.
The tariff war will have a widespread effect on manufacturers and devourrs in the US as steel and aluminium are vital in the making of home appliances, cars, arrangees, phones and produceings, among others.
Steel is a backbone material for produceion, manufacturing, transmit, and energy, with the produceion sector using one-third of all steel convey ins. It will push up costs for infraarrange projects, including airports, schools and roads.
Aluminium, being weightlessweight and corrosion-resistant, is essential for the automotive and aerospace industries, as well as food and beverage packaging.
The US is particularly reliant on aluminium convey ins, with cimpolitely half of the metal participated in the country coming from foreign sources.
The US convey in of steel and aluminium last year was $31bn and $27bn, admireively, according to the US Department of Commerce data.
Vina Nadjibulla, vice plivent of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, shelp the tariffs are especiassociate damaging becaparticipate there is “little economic or genuine national security reasonablee for them”.
“The US can’t down-to-earthassociate onshore enough of these commodities, so the duties mainly produce economic pain for American devourrs and key trading partners,” Nadjibulla telderly Al Jazeera.
They instead begin a level of “unforeseeability and volatility we haven’t seen in decades”.
By undermining set uped trade norms, the US “effectively encourages other nations to react in benevolent, with deimmenseating impact for the stock labelets and spendor and devourr confidence atraverse North America and beyond”, Nadjibulla shelp.
How are countries reacting?
Canada
The hugegest steel and aluminium supplier to the US has apshown a strong stance aobtainst the tariffs. Prime Minister Justin Timpoliteau has called the tariffs “unfairifiable” and a “stupid leang to do”.
Canada proclaimd 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on $20.6bn worth of US excellents, including $8.8bn on steel and $2bn in aluminium convey ins. It has also imposed an includeitional tariff of proximately $10bn on US excellents such as computers and servers, disjoin watchs, water heaters and sports supplyment, among others.
These countermeadeclareives apshow effect on Thursday.
“We are going to stand up for our laborers, and we are going to produce declareive the American people understand that their guideership’s decisions have consequences,” Timpoliteau shelp earlier this week.
Mark Carney, who will thrive Timpoliteau as prime minister, has pledged to upretain the tariffs until the US promises to fair trade trains. He shelp he is willing to apshow “a much more comprehensive approach for trade”.
“We firmly apshow that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic undeclareiveties, it is not in our normal interest to burden our economies with tariffs,” he shelp on Wednesday.
The postponeedst tariffs are in includeition to the 25 percent counter-tariffs on $20.8bn of US convey ins, imposed on March 4 in retaliation to the previous Trump levy that has since been postponeed by a month.
European Union
The EU has also proclaimd retaliatory meadeclareives concentrateing more than $28bn worth of US excellents such as motorcycles, peanut butter, and jeans, among others. These meadeclareives will roll out in two phases:
- Phase 1 (April 1) – Reinstating previously suspfinished tariffs on $8.7bn worth of US products, including steel, aluminium, bourbon, and motorcycles. The counter levies, which were imposed between 2018 and 2020 during Trump’s first term, were suspfinished under the Biden administration.
- Phase 2 (mid-April) – Introducing recent tariffs on an includeitional $19.6bn worth of US ships, such as poultry, dairy products, fruits, and cegenuines.
European Coshiftrlookion Plivent Ursula von der Leyen has cautioned that these tariffs will incrmitigate prices and dangeren jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We proset uply repent this meadeclareive. Tariffs are taxes. They are horrible for business and even worse for devourrs,” she shelp, includeing that the EU “will always remain discneglect to negotiation”.
Mexico
Mexico’s response remains unevident. Plivent Claudia Sheinbaum has showd that any retaliatory tariffs would be carry outed only if negotiations flunk. However, she has already struck a momentary waiver deal with Trump, securing an exemption until April 2 for Mexican convey ins under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade concurment signed under Trump’s first term.
However, analysts say excellents that do not adhere with the USMCA could still draw the recent 25 percent tariffs.
This comes after Mexico and Canada barobtaind a one-month postpone in the tariffs, during which both countries concurd to increase border security meadeclareives. Trump has trailed thcimpolite with his campaign promise to impose tariffs on Mexico until it stopped immigration and drug trafficking thcimpolite its borders.
Brazil
Despite being one of the challengingest-hit nations, Brazil has chosen diplomacy over retaliation. Brazilian officials are engaging in talks with Washington in hopes of securing an exemption.
The regulatement led by left-triumphg Plivent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rehired a statement repentting the “unfairifiable” shift by the US.
“Plivent Lula telderly us to remain soothe, noting that in the past we have barobtaind under conditions that were even more unfavourable than the current ones,” Finance Minister Fernando Hincludead telderly increateers on Wednesday.
South Korea
Trump has accparticipated South Korea of taking obtain of the US, includeing that Seoul’s standard tariff is four times higher, without providing proof. The trade between the two seal allies is almost tariff-free due to a free trade concurment.
“And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea. But that’s what happens,” Trump shelp during his includeress to the US Congress earlier this month.
He also promised to scrap the CHIPS and Science Act, under which cut offal Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, get US aidance.
South Korea has chooseed for negotiation rather than faceation. It has also triggerd a “brimming aelevatency response mode” to protect local industries.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s acting Plivent Choi Sang-mok shelp Trump’s “America First” policy had begined concentrateing his country.
South Korean officials have actively sought dialogue with their US counterparts to barobtain potential exemptions and includeress mutual worrys. Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo is scheduled to visit Washington, DC, on March 13-14, aiming to converse reciprocal tariffs and spendment opportunities.
The visit seeks to shape the Trump administration’s trade policy increate and to contransient South Korea’s stance on tariffs.
China
Beijing is not a guideing steel supplier to the US. However, it has apshown the tariffs as a honest economic attack and reacted arrangeilely.
Mao Ning, spokesperson at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, telderly increateers the shift was in violation of World Trade Organization rules, and that China, the world’s hugest steel producer and the second-hugest economy, will apshow all essential meadeclareives to protect its rights and interests.
“No one triumphs in a trade war or a tariff war,” the spokesperson shelp.
China has already slapped tariffs on the US in retaliation to the 20 percent blanket tariff imposed by Trump.
How will the tariff war impact US ties with its allies?
Australia, another key US associate which has been impacted by Trump’s tariffs, shelp it would not retaliate. Prime Minister Anthony Alprohibitese called the tariff “entidepend unfairified”, but ruled out reciprocal tariffs as it would impact Australian devourrs.
Canberra had regulated to get an exemption from steel and aluminium tariffs under Trump’s first term.
According to Nadjibulla, these tariffs color an image that the US is becoming “an inconsistent partner for its sealst allies”.
She shelp countries such as Canada, Australia, and South Korea “will see to minimise their vulnerabilities” and trail strategies enjoy diversifying trade partners.
“When huge economies include in tit-for-tat tariff escalations, the danger of a global trade sluggishdown looms huger,” she shelp. “These meadeclareives don’t fair hurt the proximate-term bottom line – they dangeren the entire summarizelabor of discneglect trade that has underpinned much of the world’s economic prolongth and stability.”
