The prices of steel and aluminum in the United States rose this Monday, while the actions of foreign steelmars fell after President Donald Trump said he would double tariffs on imports of the two metals at 50%.
Trump announced on Friday the new levies to steel and aluminum, which will take effect on June 4, intensifying a global commercial war just hours after he accused China of violating an agreement with the United States to mutually reduce tariffs and commercial restrictions for critical minerals.
The United States is the largest steel importer in the world, excluding the European Union, with a total of 26.2 million tons of steel imported in 2024, according to the Department of Commerce.
While some industry experts questioned whether tariffs would be implemented as said, in the light of Trump’s previous posture changes, they said that uncertainty and increased metal prices would stop industrial activity.
“It is likely that the increase in prices also further affects the demand for steel of the American manufacturing sector, which we already hope that it contracts this year,” said analyst Eoin Densmore of Goldman Sachs.
The premium for consumers who buy aluminum in the physical market in the United States increased 54%, while hot rolled steel coils in that country rose 7.4%.
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The copper prices also rose, since the operators bet that Trump would impose strong metal tariffs used in energy and construction. The American copper reached a maximum of almost two months, expanding its cousin on London’s reference prices.
Salzgitter, the second largest steel producer in Germany, warned that Washington’s tariff policy was advising a hard blow to the European industry.
According to the German steel association, the United States represented around a fifth of European steel exports outside the EU.
“The risk to the European market, as well as for other regional markets, is that part of the commercial flow can deviate,” said Bastian Synagowitz from the Deutsche Bank.
Analysts were skeptical about whether the entire effect of tariffs announced on Friday would apply.
“I think the final result will be much less than the initially projected, especially with regard to its duration,” said Chelsea Ye, a senior analyst at McCloskey metal research firm.
Meanwhile, the tariff change was applauded by American aluminum producers, used in transport, packaging and construction, who said the measure would stop a “flood” of imports.
“For decades, subsidized foreign producers have emptied the national aluminum industry,” said Mark Duffy, president of the American Primary Aluminum Association.
The actions of the US steel -ups rose in the first Wall Street operations, with Cleveland cliffs and dynamics of steel by increasing between 11% and 24%.
Fall of Asian Steel’s actions
The actions of steel manufacturers fell in South Korea, which was the fourth largest steel exporter to the United States last year, behind Canada, Mexico and Brazil, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute.
The South Korean Ministry of Industry said in a statement that it had held an emergency meeting with officials of the country’s main steel manufacturers, including postco and Hyundai Steel.
Postco and Hyundai Steel actions fell 3%, while those of their South Korean pair Seah Steel Corp fell 8%.
In Vietnam, Hoa Sen Group Steel Nam Kim and Vietnam Steel Corp companies fell between 2.7% and 3.4%.
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50% tariffs will be added to the challenges faced by Korean steel exporters, which have refrained from drastically increasing exports to the United States to avoid Washington’s scrutiny, despite the increase in steel prices in the United States, an industry executive told Reuters.
“It will be a burden for exporting companies if there are no additional increases in steel prices in the United States,” he told Reuters, asking not to be identified due to the delicacy of the issue.
Steel and aluminum tariffs were the first that Trump imposed after his return to office in January. 25% tariffs on most steel and aluminum imported to the United States entered into force on March 12.
Commercial conversations
South Korea, an important ally of the United States, has requested an exemption from steel tariffs, cars and other articles, during conversations with the United States.
At the end of April, Seoul agreed to prepare a commercial package before the 90 -day break in Trump’s reciprocal pauses in July, but it has been difficult for negotiators to make great decisions due to a political leadership vacuum before Tuesday’s elections.
At the end of March, Hyundai Steel announced a plan to build a factory of 5.8 billion dollars in Louisiana in response to US tariffs, but the factory will not open until 2029. In April, the largest rival of Hyundai Steel, Posco, signed a preliminary agreement to make a capital investment in the factory project.
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In India, which depends largely on the United States for aluminum exports, industry experts also warned of an important impact.
“This will have a harmful impact,” BK Bhatia, general director of the Federation of Mineral Industries of India, the main mining body of the country, told Reuters BK Bhatia.
The United States is the largest market for Indian aluminum. The government has been negotiating, so we hope that, with conversations, tariffs will be reduced.
With Reuters information
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