Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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The US raises tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, impacting trade with partners like Canada and Mexico, while China remains a minor exporter.
(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday to a flat 25% "without exceptions or exemptions" in a move he hopes will aid the struggling industries in the United States but which also risks sparking a multi-front trade war.
Here's a summary of the major trade partners it will affect.
Steel
Roughly a quarter of all steel used in the United States is imported, the bulk of it from neighbours Mexico and Canada or close allies in Asia and Europe such as Japan, South Korea and Germany.
While China is the world's largest steel producer and exporter, very little is sent to the United States. Tariffs of 25% imposed in 2018 shut most Chinese steel out of the market.
China exported 508,000 net tons of steel to the U.S. last year or 1.8% of total American steel imports.
Aluminum
In the case of aluminum, the U.S. is more heavily reliant on imports. Roughly half of all aluminum used in the U.S. is imported, The vast majority comes from neighbour Canada. At 3.2 million tons last year, Canadian imports were twice those of the next nine countries combined.
The next largest sources of imports are the United Arab Emirates and China, at 347,034 and 222,872 metric tons, respectively.
The U.S. aluminum smelting industry is small by global standards. Total smelter capacity in the country was just 1.73% of the global total according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson in Beijing, Neha Arora in New Delhi, Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi, Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul; Editing by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez)
The article discusses US steel and aluminum import sources and the impact of new tariffs.
The US imports roughly a quarter of its steel, primarily from Canada, Mexico, and allies in Asia and Europe.
Canada is the largest aluminum supplier to the US, providing twice as much as the next nine countries combined.
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