section_path: Multinational tariffs/Steel and aluminum tariffs
section_name: Steel and aluminum tariffs
paragraph_text: Steel and aluminum tariffs
  
  On March 12, 2025, the US imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, aiming to strengthen domestic production. On April 2, 2025, aluminum tariffs expanded to include empty aluminum cans and canned beer. The measures expanded Trump's first-term steel and aluminum tariffs by eliminating all exemptions and raising the aluminum tariff from 10% to 25%. The administration argued previous exemptions "inadvertently created loopholes that were exploited by China and others with excess steel and aluminum capacity". Trump also mandated that steel be "melted and poured" and aluminum "smelted and cast" in the US to qualify for duty-free status to prevent tariff circumvention. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump would soon add a copper tariff as well. On May 30, 2025, Donald Trump announced double tariff on steel and aluminium imports from 25% to 50% since June 4.
  
  In 2023, the US imported 44% of its aluminum and 26% of its steel. Canada was its largest supplier of both, accounting for more than half of aluminum and two-thirds of primary aluminum imports. While the US was the world's largest producer of aluminum through 2000, it accounted for less than 2% of the global supply by 2021, largely due to high electricity costs that made it less competitive in the global market. In 2021, primary aluminum smelters operated at 55% capacity in the US compared to 95% in Canada and 88% globally. The US remained a major producer of less energy-intensive secondary aluminum, but secondary aluminum is less desirable for defense or electronics.
  
  Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports were increased to 50% on June 4, 2025. The UK remained at 25% while it continued to negotiate a trade deal announced the previous month. On June 12, the White House announced steel tariffs would expand to include a range of major household appliances beginning on June 23, 2025.