President Donald Trump has announced new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports starting Monday, February 10.
This move, revealed to reporters on Air Force One while en route to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, adds to the existing duties on steel and aluminum first introduced during his previous term.
“Tariffs are going to help. Tariffs are going to make it very successful,” President Trump said.
The president also revealed plans to introduce “reciprocal tariffs” against countries that impose high duties on U.S. goods—an approach designed to encourage fairer trade practices.
Trump indicated he would announce details on these additional measures as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.
“If they are charging us 130 percent and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” he told reporters, emphasizing the principle behind reciprocal tariffs.
“Where a country…charges us so much, and we do the same,” Trump further explained during remarks at the White House alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. “I think that’s the only fair way to do it. That way, nobody’s hurt.”
Last month, President Trump was set to impose a 25% tariff on all U.S. imports from both Canada and Mexico unless their leaders addressed illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking.
Hours before the tariffs took effect, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to strengthen border security and curb drug trafficking. This led to a 30-day pause on those tariffs.
The administration had also enacted a 10% tariff on certain Chinese products starting February 4, while exempting items under $800.
In response, Chinese officials announced a new 15% tariff on U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas, plus a 10% tariff on American oil, large-engine cars, and agricultural machinery.
President Trump frequently used tariffs in his first term, championing them as a tool to protect American workers and promote fair trade deals. At that time, he instituted a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum—later granting duty-free quotas to select partners like Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.
Now, by reinstating and expanding these measures, he aims to press trading partners to negotiate terms that he views as more favorable to the United States.