Customs duties of 25 % on steel and aluminum desired by Donald Trump became effective this Wednesday, March 12 at 12:01 a.m. (05:01 am French), marking a new stage in the trade war between the United States and its main business partners.
The president once again disconcerted the markets Tuesday with contradictory announcements on Canada, his privileged commercial and diplomatic target. He blew hot and cold by threatening to double, at 50 %, the planned customs duties on Canadian steel and aluminum, then giving it up a few hours later.
A flip-flop due to the withdrawal by Ontario of its surcharge on electricity exports to three American states. Doug Ford, who heads Ontario, the most populous Canadian province, and the US trade minister Howard Lutnick is expected to meet on Thursday in Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also left for Canada on Wednesday: he will be the first high-responsible Trump administration to set foot on Canadian soil since the American president said a trade war with Ottawa.
Donald Trump had already taxed imports of steel and aluminum during his first mandate (2017-2021) but the new tax that comes into force this March 12 is “without exception and without exemption”, he assured during his announcement in early February.
Protect the American industry
In addition to Canada, China, the European Union, Japan and Australia are concerned, while the displayed goal of the White House tenant is to protect the American steel industry, which sees its production drop from year to year, faced with increasingly vigorous competition, notably from Asia.
The United States imports approximately half of the steel and aluminum used in the country, for sectors as varied as automotive or aviation, petrochemicals or basic consumer products, such as canned.
Since the start of his mandate, Donald Trump has made extensive use of customs duties, using them both as a tool for negotiations with the trade partners of the United States, incentive to set up businesses in the country and a source of income for federal finances.
He first targeted Canada, Mexico, 25 %, and China, 10 %before bringing the rate to 20 %, accusing the three countries of not acting enough to combat fentanyl traffic, a powerful opioid cause of a serious health crisis in the country. But Canadian and Mexican products imported into the United States and respecting the specifications of the Canada-Mexico-Estats Free Trade Agreement (ACEUM) was finally exempt last Thursday, in fact sparing large part of imports. Customs duties targeting Chinese products, on the other hand, was maintained and pushed Beijing to announce reprisals, targeting in particular agricultural products from American states that largely voted in favor of Donald Trump last November.