US President Donald Trump says he’s doubling the tariff rate on aluminium and steel to 50%, as ITV News’ Aisha Zahid reports
The government has admitted that it is unclear how US President Donald Trump’s latest steel and aluminium tariffs will impact the UK.
Trump made the announcement on Friday that he’s doubling the tariff rate on aluminium and steel to 50% from Wednesday, a dramatic increase that could further push up prices for metal used to make housing, cars and other goods.
The recently announced trade agreement between London and Washington could theoretically exempt British-made steel, but it has not yet taken effect.
A government spokesperson told ITV News: “The UK was the first country to secure a trade deal with the US earlier this month and we remain committed to protecting British business and jobs across key sectors, including steel.
“We are engaging with the US on the implications of the latest tariff announcement and to provide clarity for industry.”
Trump held a rally at the US Steel’s Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday, where he announced a $14 billion investment through a partnership with Japan’s Nippon Steel.
In a fresh escalation of his global trade war, he said the move would ensure US Steel’s survival and reduce the reliance on China, the world’s largest steel manufacturer.
The price of steel products has increased roughly 16% since Trump became president in January, according to the government’s producer price index.
Trump told reporters upon his return to Washington that he still needs to approve the deal.
“I have to approve the final deal with Nippon and we haven’t seen that final deal yet, but they’ve made a very big commitment and it’s a very big investment,” he said.
Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker’s bid to buy the Pittsburgh-based US Steel, he reversed course and announced an agreement last week for “partial ownership” by Nippon.
However, it’s unclear if the deal his administration helped broker has been finalised or how ownership would be structured. Nippon Steel has never said it is backing off its bid to outright buy and control US Steel as a wholly owned subsidiary, even as it increased the amount of money it promised to invest in US Steel plants and gave guarantees that it wouldn’t lay off workers or close plants.
“We’re here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company,” Trump said as he opened an event at one of US Steel’s warehouses. “You’re going to stay an American company, you know that, right?”
As for the tariffs, Trump said doubling the levies on imported steel “will even further secure the steel industry in the US”, but such a dramatic increase could push prices even higher.
Steel prices have climbed 16% since Trump became president in mid-January, according to the government’s Producer Price Index.
As of March 2025, the cost of steel was $984 per metric ton in the United States, significantly higher than the prices in Europe ($690) or China ($392), according to the US Commerce Department. The United States produced about three times as much steel as it imported last year, with Canada, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea being the largest sources of steel imports.
Analysts have credited tariffs going back to Trump’s first term with helping strengthen the domestic steel industry, something that Nippon Steel wanted to capitalise on in its offer to buy US Steel.
However, the United Steelworkers union remain sceptical.
Its president, David McCall, said in a statement that the union is most concerned “with the impact that this merger of US Steel into a foreign competitor will have on national security, our members and the communities where we live and work.”
Trump stressed the deal would maintain American control of the storied company, which is seen as both a political symbol and an important matter for the country’s supply chain, industries like auto manufacturing and national security.
Trump, who has been eager to strike deals and announce new investments in the US since retaking the White House, is also trying to satisfy voters, including blue-collar workers, who elected him as he called to protect US manufacturing.
US Steel has not publicly communicated any details of a revamped deal to investors. Nippon Steel issued a statement approving of the proposed “partnership”, but also has not disclosed terms.
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