President Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% on Wednesday, promising that the taxes would help create US factory jobs at a time when his seesawing tariff threats are jolting the stock market and raising fears of an economic slowdown, the AP reports. Trump removed all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals, in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminum from 10%. His moves, based off a February directive, are part of a broader effort to disrupt and transform global commerce. The US president has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil, and South Korea by charging "reciprocal" rates starting on April 2.
Trump told CEOs in the Business Roundtable on Tuesday that the tariffs were causing companies to invest in US factories. The 8% drop in the S&P 500 stock index over the past month on fears of deteriorating growth appears unlikely to dissuade him, as Trump argued that higher tariff rates would be more effective at bringing back factories. But some warned that the prospect of higher prices, fewer sales, and lower profits might cause some companies to refrain from investing in new facilities. "If you're an executive in the boardroom, are you really going to tell your board it's the time to expand that assembly line?" says a senior VP at the US Chamber of Commerce. (Trump threatened to put tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum from Canada, but after a back-and-forth with Ontario's premier, he chose to stick with the 25% rate.)
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