Trump Doubles Down: Announces 50% Tariff on Steel Imports to Protect American Industry
President Donald Trump has taken a bold step in his ongoing mission to defend American industry, announcing on Friday that his administration will double tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%. The move marks a major escalation in the president’s commitment to revitalizing U.S. manufacturing and shielding American workers from globalist economic policies that have hollowed out industrial towns for decades.
The announcement came during a speech at a U.S. Steel plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh—a symbolic stronghold of America’s once-thriving steel industry. President Trump made it clear: foreign nations will no longer be allowed to undercut American steelmakers.
“We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We’re going to bring it up from 25% to 50%, the tariffs on steel in the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States, nobody is going to get around that,” Trump declared to a roaring crowd of steelworkers.
Initially considering a 40% hike, the president ultimately decided to push the tariff to 50%, although he offered no specifics on the reasoning behind the number, according to the Washington Times.
The announcement coincides with a major deal between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel, where the Japanese firm will acquire the majority of U.S. Steel in a $13 billion agreement. While some globalists might frame this as outsourcing, the Trump administration has ensured safeguards that protect American interests.
President Trump emphasized that the agreement guarantees U.S. Steel remains American in identity and operation. According to Fox Business, the original $14.9 billion acquisition proposed by Nippon in 2023 was blocked by former President Joe Biden on so-called national security grounds—a move that ultimately led to legal pushback from both companies. After reopening the stalled review process in April, the Trump administration gave the green light to a revised deal.
In a May 23 post on social media, Trump called it “a blockbuster deal” that ensures U.S. Steel “remains an American company.”
On Friday, Trump told workers at the Mon Valley Works Irvin Plant that the deal comes with real guarantees—no layoffs, no outsourcing, and a $5,000 bonus for every steelworker as recognition for their perseverance.
“You’ve gone through a lot,” Trump told the crowd. “But help is here. And it’s not coming from Washington bureaucrats—it’s coming from you, the American worker, and your President who puts America First.”
This move builds on the president’s earlier action from March, when he reinstated a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum, reviving a trade measure originally enacted during his first term and left largely intact by Biden.
Since the tariffs took effect, the results speak for themselves. The U.S. fabricated metals sector added 3,400 jobs, while primary metal manufacturing added another 2,600, according to Department of Labor data. Raw steel production has climbed 6%, and capacity utilization—a key indicator of industrial health—has improved by 3.7 percentage points, Washington Times reported.
These gains haven’t gone unnoticed. Union leaders and American steel executives have been urging Trump to go even further—something the President made clear he intends to do.
But not everyone is pleased. Predictably, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other pro-globalist business groups voiced opposition, warning that higher input costs could hurt manufacturers and consumers.
“Price hikes for industrial inputs like steel and aluminum hurt a broad swath of downstream manufacturers across the United States, from the auto and aerospace sectors to food producers and the oil and gas sector,” wrote John G. Murphy, a senior VP at the Chamber. “For every job in steel production, there are roughly 80 Americans employed by manufacturers that use steel as an input.”
That talking point, however, ignores the larger economic picture: a nation that cannot produce its own steel cannot defend its sovereignty—economically, militarily, or strategically.
President Trump’s unapologetic America First agenda continues to prioritize blue-collar jobs in Rust Belt battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana—states that helped deliver his 2024 re-election victory.