President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will double the tariffs on all steel imports to 50%, escalating the trade battle he initiated in March to protect the U.S. steel industry.
Trump’s announcement comes on the heels of a deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, a Japanese company, aimed at saving the American steel manufacturer.
“We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We’re going to bring it up from 25% to 50%, the tariffs on steel in the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States, nobody is going to get around that,” Trump said at a U.S. Steel plant in West Mifflin, Pa.
Trump said he had initially considered a 40% tariff but ultimately opted to raise it to 50%, without explaining what led to that decision, the Washington Times reported.
The announcement was made during a speech celebrating the partnership between Japan’s Nippon and U.S. Steel, under which the Japanese company will acquire nearly all shares of its American counterpart in a deal worth approximately $13 billion, the outlet said.
In March, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum to support