Trump prices: response or negotiate

A decision by US President Donald Trump to place a 25% rate on all steel and aluminum imports let some of the main American business partners rush to conclude an agreement.

The United States is an important importer of steel, important nearly a quarter of the steel it uses, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute, which adds that its dependence on Aluminum is even greater.

Its neighbors Canada and Mexico, as well as certain allies in Asia, are among its main suppliers.

Trump said his last prices will take effect on March 12 “without exception or exemptions”.

With a little over a month before the tax is playing, here is how some countries responded.

As one of the largest suppliers of the two raw materials in the United States, Canada has a lot to lose.

“Canada has additional irritation reasons because they are the largest supplier of steel and one of the largest aluminum suppliers in the United States,” said Deborah Elms, commercial expert in the Hinrich Foundation.

Canadian Minister of Industry François-Philippe Champagne criticized the decision, the appellant “totally unjustified”.

In an article on X, he said that Canadian Steel was used in the main American industries, including defense, shipbuilding and energy, adding that it made “more competitive and secure North America”.

He added that Canada “would defend our industries as we have always done and always” and warned that Canada’s response would be “clear and calibrated”.

Although Trump has declared that he would not consider any exceptions, it seems that he could put this rule aside for Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had spoken on the phone with Trump and that the American chief was considering an exemption.

Albanian calling “a very good man”, Trump had previously explained that the United States runs a trade surplus with Australia.

“The reason is that they buy a lot of planes. They are rather far away and they need a lot of planes,” said Trump. “We actually have a surplus, this is one of the only countries we do.”

But despite being the world’s largest exporter of iron ore – a key material of steel – steel exports in Australia are not as important.

According to Albanian, Australian Steel represents around 1% of American imports, although its steel is used by an American military naval manufacturer.

There was no official response from the British government to the last American rates, but the Trade Body Uk Steel declared in a statement that the prices would bring a “devastating blow” to their industry.

“The United States is our second largest export market after the EU. At a time to shrink demand and high costs, the increase in protectionism worldwide, especially in the United States, will suffocate our exports and damage more than 400 million pounds Sterling ($ 494 million) The sector’s contribution to the trade balance of the United Kingdom, “said Gareth Stace, Managing Director of UK Steel, in a statement.

“It is deeply disappointing that President Trump sees the need to target UK Steel, taking into account our relatively low production volumes compared to the major steel nations,” he said, adding that there was a Danger that other countries can “redirect” steel to the British market to avoid American prices.

On Tuesday, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, replied by saying that “the unjustified prices on the EU will not remain unanswered”.

“They will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures. The EU will act to protect its economic interests,” she said. “I deeply regret the American decision to impose prices on European steel and aluminum exports. Prices are taxes – bad for business, worse for consumers.”

According to the Eurometal commercial group, the United States was the second market for EU iron and steel exports.

Trump imposed prices in both the United Kingdom and the EU during his first mandate, but these restrictions were then relaxed by the Biden administration.

India Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said Trump’s prices would not have much impact, stressing the fact that India exports only a small fraction of his steel to the United States.

“How many steel do we really export to the United States?” Poundrik said at an industry event, according to a PTI report.

“We produced 145 million tonnes of steel last year, of which 95,000 tonnes were exported to the United States. So how does this have 145 million tonnes, you are not able Export 95,000 tonnes? ”

But not everyone shares this feeling.

The head of the Indian Steel Association (ISA), Naveen Jindal, said that it was “deeply concerned” that the American restrictions could lead steel manufacturers to throw their steel on the Indian market at lower prices.

These prices should “reduce steel exports to the United States by 85%, creating a massive surplus which will probably flood India, which is one of the few major markets without commercial restrictions”, he said .

South Korea is a major steel exporter in the United States, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Its steel is used by local businesses like Hyundai, Kia, Samsung and LG, which all have factories in the United States and Mexico.

Tuesday, the Minister of Trade Cheong In-kyo said that South Korea “would actively examine” if there was room for negotiations with the United States-one day after the Ministry of Industry held An emergency meeting with Steelmakers.

In 2018, when Trump also imposed a 25% rate on all steel imports, Seoul obtained a derogation in exchange for an annual import quota.

It is not known that the offers could be reduced or the derogations granted in next month, but Eswar Prasad, an expert in international trade policy at Cornell University, said in the long term, American trade partners can seek to Diversify far from the United States by selling their products elsewhere.

But he also says that “Trump’s drastic actions have put the rest of the world on the back” due to the strength of the American economy compared to most of its business partners.

Wendy Cutler, vice-president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that if the United States’s business partners can request short-term appeasement, they could still decide to retaliate in the long term.

“Although the openings may be brought to work with the Trump team to avoid prices, our partners can conclude that prices arrive so quickly and furious, negotiations are not a sustainable option,” she said.