U.S. President Donald Trump said that he will announce a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States on the 10th (local time). According to CNBC, this could impact Canada and Mexico, the top two steel exporters to the U.S., as well as Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, citing statistics from the International Trade Administration (ITA) under the U.S. Department of Commerce.
According to the International Trade Administration, Canada was the largest exporter of steel to the U.S. last year, exporting $7.14 billion worth of steel (23%). Mexico ranked second with $3.5 billion (11%), followed by Brazil ($2.99 billion, 9%), South Korea ($2.9 billion, 9%), Germany ($1.9 billion, 6%), and Japan ($1.74 billion, 5%).
In terms of aluminum exports to the U.S., Canada dominates with $9.42 billion. The United Arab Emirates comes in second with $920 million, while South Korea ranks third with $780 million. China ($770 million) and Bahrain ($530 million) also export aluminum to the U.S.
CNBC noted, "Canada and Mexico account for the largest share among steel and aluminum exporting countries," adding that if the tariffs hinted by Trump go into effect, they are likely to be significantly affected. Germany is also expected to suffer negative impacts from tariffs as it exports a substantial amount of steel to the U.S. However, Thyssenkrupp, a German steel company, predicted, "The steel exported by Germany mainly consists of high-quality steel products used in automobiles, so the impact of the tariffs will be very limited."
CNBC anticipated that South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan would also be among the countries likely to be hit by the steel and aluminum tariffs. In particular, Vietnam and Taiwan saw their steel exports to the U.S. surge by 140% and 75%, respectively, compared to the previous year. During the same period, South Korea's steel exports to the U.S. increased by only 7%, while Japan actually saw a 1% decrease.
During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. However, he granted duty-free quotas to Canada, Mexico, the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom following the imposition of tariffs. At that time, South Korea also accepted a quota system that limited export quantities in exchange for exemption from the U.S. steel tariffs.
Consequently, South Korea received a tariff-free quota (allocation) that applied to approximately 70% of its average annual export volume (about 3.83 million tons) from 2015 to 2017, set at 2.63 million tons, and this system has been maintained to this day.
Earlier, on the 9th, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, which was headed to New Orleans for the Super Bowl, "Any steel coming into the U.S. will be subject to a 25% tariff." When asked about aluminum, he responded, "The same applies to aluminum."