US President Donald Trump's protectionist policies aimed at protecting the steel and aluminum industries will not lead to economic growth and will only weaken the country, writes Bloomberg.
President Donald Trump has said he will announce a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US, a move that will have the biggest impact in Canada.
Trump also said that there would be an announcement later in the week about reciprocal tariffs on all countries that tax imports from the US, but he did not specify which nations would be targeted, or if there would be any exemptions.
"If they charge us, we charge them," Trump said.
The move marks another escalation in Trump's trade policy, which has already sparked retaliation from China.
Canada and Mexico are two of the US's biggest steel trading partners, and Canada is the biggest supplier of aluminium metal into the US.
Steel production in the US is heavily politicised. Some argue the country needs to be capable of producing enough high quality steel to supply its military in the event of a national emergency without relying on imports.
During his first term, Trump put tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
But the US reached a deal a year later with Canada and Mexico to end those tariffs, although the EU import taxes remained in place until 2021.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said on Monday he would announce tariffs on "everybody" for steel and aluminium.
"Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff," he said.
In response, Doug Ford, the premier of the province of Ontario, accused Trump of "shifting goalposts and constant chaos, putting our economy at risk" in an online post. Canada's steel production is concentrated in Ontario.
Canadian political adviser Catherine Loubier said she believed Trump's threats were real, but said there could be a solution because of how connected the two economies are.
"Hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US are linked to the steel and aluminium input from Canada into the US economy," she told the BBC's Today programme.
"I think there's a lot at stake and nobody's winning with these tariffs, that's for sure."
Trump's comments caused shares in major South Korean steel and car makers to fall. South Korea is a major exporter of steel to the US.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament his government would "make the case" to the US for Australia to be given an exemption to any steel and aluminium tariffs - something they got during Trump's first term.
