President Trump said on Thursday that he would impose stiff tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, making good on a key campaign promise and rattling stock markets as the prospect of a global trade fight appeared imminent, the New York Times reported. In a hastily arranged meeting with industry executives that stunned many inside the West Wing, Trump said he would formally sign the trade measures next week and promised they would be in effect “for a long period of time.” The action, which came against the wishes of Trump’s pro-trade advisers, would impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, effectively placing a tax on every foreign shipment of those metals into the U.S. The president told more than a dozen executives that he wanted the tariffs to apply to all countries, arguing that if one country was exempt, all other countries would line up to ask for similar treatment, and that metals could end up being shipped to the U.S. through exempted countries. Trump’s authority to impose such sweeping tariffs stems from a Commerce Department investigation that concluded last month that imported metal threatened national security by degrading the American industrial base. Stocks fell in response to the potential tariffs, with declines in the industrial sector outpacing the overall market. Trump’s announcement came despite months of heavy pushback from American companies that use metals in their products, like automakers and food packagers, and foreign officials, who warned that tariffs would strain relations and could prompt retaliatory trade actions. It also elicited a swift and severe response from Republican lawmakers, who said the action would ultimately hurt American companies, workers, consumers and the economy.
