Washington - The United States broadened its slate of tariffs Wednesday as sweeping levies on steel and aluminum imports took effect "with no exceptions or exemptions" as promised by the White House- despite countries' efforts to avert them.
President Donald Trump's 25 percent duties on both metals will likely add to the cost of producing anything from home appliances to automobiles and cans used for drinks, threatening to raise consumer prices down the road. "It wouldn't surprise me to see the tariffs pretty quickly show up in prices," Cato Institute research fellow Clark Packard told AFP.
He added that auto manufacturing and construction -- spanning both residential and commercial buildings -- are among the biggest users of steel in the country. Trump has imposed steep tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China since returning to office, allowing only a partial rollback for his country's neighbors while vowing fresh levies from April 2.
The latest duties will again impact Canada heavily, with the country supplying some 50 percent of US aluminum imports and 20 percent of its steel imports, according to a recent note by EY chief economist Gregory Daco. Besides Canada, Brazil and Mexico are also key US suppliers of steel, while the United Arab Emirates and South Korea are among the providers of aluminum. Wednesday's levies stack atop earlier ones. This means some Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum products likely face a 50 percent tariff rate unless they are compliant with the US- Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Uncertainty over Trump's trade plans and worries that they could tip the world's biggest economy into a recession have roiled financial markets, with Wall Street indexes tumbling for a second straight day on Tuesday.
But Trump has played down fears over his handling of the economy, saying Tuesday that he does not see a downturn coming while dismissing losses on Wall Street. - 'Bumpy' transition - Trump's trade decisions have come with volatility, with the president threatening to double the tariff rate on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 percent less than a day before the levies were due to kick in. Canada's Ontario province had decided to impose an electricity surcharge on three American states in retaliation to earlier US levies, prompting Trump's furious response. Washington and Ottawa swapped angry tariff warnings throughout the day as trade tensions surged, and Trump doubled down on provocative plans to annex his country's northern neighbor.
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