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Steel stocks jumped Monday after President Trump vowed to double tariffs on the metal to 50% — and vowed to revive the American steel industry.
Shares in mining company Cleveland-Cliffs soared 23%, while Steel Dynamics and Nucor Corp both rose 10%.
During a Pennsylvania rally on Friday, Trump told steelworkers he would hike the tax on steel imports so Pittsburgh would be “respected around the world as the Steel City again.”
“At 25%, they can sort of get over that fence. At 50%, they can no longer get over the fence,” Trump said.
“We don’t want America’s future to be built with shoddy steel from Shanghai, we want it built with the strength and the pride of Pittsburgh.”
On Monday, the European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation bloc, said it would meet with White House officials this week to make a strong case for the US to reduce or eliminate tariffs.
The Commission said it was prioritizing negotiations to resolve the conflict.
“We don’t want to go down the route of tariffs. Rather than have them increase, we want them to decrease and where possible eliminate them,” a Commission spokesperson told a press conference on Monday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the EU was “negotiating in good faith” with US officials and the Trump administration remained “hopeful and optimistic” that a deal could be struck with Brussels.
The EU currently faces 25% tariffs on steel and cars and “reciprocal” tariffs on most goods, which were provisionally set at 20% but is being held at 10% during a 90-day pause until July.
Trump made the visit to Pennsylvania to tout a $14 billion deal investment from Japan’s Nippon Steel toward US Steel.
The Japanese firm’s proposed acquisition of US Steel has been controversial and delayed by lawmakers across the political spectrum for years.
The terms of the new deal – which Trump has called a “partnership,” not a merger – are still somewhat murky, though US Steel will remain an American-majority board and a US government veto over decisions.
“This is an incredible deal for American steel workers, and it includes vital protections to ensure that all steel workers will keep their jobs and all facilities in the United States will remain open and thriving,” Trump said.
“For decades, you watched as one globalist politician after the next sold you out and sent your dreams to China and to many other foreign countries. But now you finally have a president who’s working for you and fighting for you.”
Trump announced the higher steel tariff just days after a federal court blocked the majority of his tariffs – excluding the taxes on steel, aluminum and auto parts and cars.
His administration quickly filed an appeal and requested a stay on the order in the meantime, which an appeals court granted.
Trump blasted the court’s ruling as an imposition on his executive power and demanded the Supreme Court quickly take up the issue.
With Post wires
