LAST UPDATE | 12 Mar

THE UNITED STATES’ tariffs on steel and aluminium imports have taken effect “with no exceptions or exemptions” as promised by the White House – despite countries’ efforts to avert them.

President Donald Trump’s 25 percent duties on both metals will likely add to the cost of producing various goods from home appliances to cars and cans used for drinks, threatening to raise consumer prices down the road.

The European Commission has announced “countermeasures” in response to the US tariffs, as has Canada.

“We deeply regret this measure,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement about the US tariffs, as Brussels announced it would be “launching a series of countermeasures” in response to the “unjustified trade restrictions”.

Von der Leyen estimated the US tariffs were worth $28 billion and the European Union’s response would affect the same amount of US products.

In a European Commission press statement declaring the tariffs, the EU said it would “automatically reinstate” levies first introduced in 2018 during the last Trump administration.

Canada has announced additional tariffs on CAN$29.8 billion (€18.98 billion) of US goods, retaliating against American levies on Canadian steel and aluminium.

Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc said the Canadian tariffs that come into force tomorrow will hit products that include computers and sports equipment, and were in response to President Donald Trump’s 25 percent levy on Canadian aluminium and steel, which he called “unjustified and unreasonable.”

“We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminium industries are being unfairly targeted,” Leblanc told reporters.

Flagship American goods

These targeted some flagship American goods, ranging from Levi’s blue jeans to Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon.

These have been suspended in recent years but will take now effect from 1 April.

Those moves between the EU and the US come hours before Taoiseach Micheál Martin meets Trump at the White House for the annual St Patrick’s Day meeting.

However, the nations set to be hit hardest by Trump’s tariffs are Canada, Brazil and Mexico – all key US suppliers of steel – while the United Arab Emirates and South Korea are among the major providers of aluminium.

Trump has imposed steep tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China since returning to office, allowing only a partial rollback for his country’s neighbours while vowing fresh levies from April 2.

The latest duties will again impact Canada heavily, with the country supplying about half of US aluminium imports and 20 percent of its steel imports.

Uncertainty over Trump’s trade plans and worries that they could tip the world’s biggest economy into a recession have roiled financial markets, with Wall Street indexes tumbling for a second straight day yesterday.

But Trump has played down fears over his handling of the economy, saying yesterday he does not see a downturn coming while dismissing losses on Wall Street.

Trump’s trade decisions have come with volatility, with the president threatening to double the tariff rate on Canadian steel and aluminium to 50 percent less than a day before the levies were due to kick in.

Trump has framed his tariffs as ways of getting carmakers and other manufacturers to move production to the US from neighbours like Canada and Mexico.

Rubio in Shannon

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said tariffs are not there to “punish” other countries and claimed that steel and aluminium are “national security concerns” for the US.

He accused other unnamed nations of “unfair trade practices” where states “subsidise their industries so that they can gain global market share” in the long-term.

Speaking to reporters during a stopover at Shannon Airport in Co Clare, he said Trump introduced tariffs because he wants to “develop a domestic capability” for the US.

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“If you don’t have steel and aluminium, you can’t build warships, you can’t build airplanes,” he said.

Previous US trade policy “left us deeply vulnerable”, Rubio claims, “to any sort of interruptions in global supplies and or it being used to extort us”.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called the EU’s economic policies “out of step with reality”.

Blaming the EU for failing to help address global excess capacity on the metals and other sectors, Greer said: “The EU’s punitive action completely disregards the national security imperatives of the United States – and indeed international security.”

Responding to the worldwide tariffs, the UK’s Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the decision as “disappointing” and said “all options” are on the table to respond in the national interest.

Britain has resisted taking immediate retaliatory action against the move at present, in contrast to the EU.

“We are focused on a pragmatic approach and are rapidly negotiating a wider economic agreement with the US to eliminate additional tariffs and to benefit UK businesses and our economy,” Reynolds said.

“I will continue to engage closely and productively with the US to press the case for UK business interests. We will keep all options on the table and won’t hesitate to respond in the national interest.”

– © AFP 2025

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton and PA