PVF Section 232 Breaking News: President Trump to impose steel and aluminum tariffs
President Donald Trump announced Thursday he will impose what the New York Times (in a story written by Ana Swanson) calls “stiff tariffs” on imports of steel and aluminum.
The Times story adds in the story the decision thwarted some of Trump’s top pro-trade advisers and shook the stock markets “as the prospect of a global trade fight loomed.”
The story noted Trump said he would formally sign the trade measures next week, which would impose tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), which represents manufacturers of heating, air-conditioning, commercial refrigeration and water-heating products and equipment, was swift in expressing its disappointment with the decision.
“As we made clear in letters to the president and to Commerce Secretary Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer, AHRI does not support additional tariffs on steel and aluminum due to their impact on manufacturers and consumers,” AHRI wrote in its brief.
“As major users of steel and aluminum, we have been proactive in explaining to the administration that the HVACR and water-heating industry would be negatively impacted by an increase in tariffs, as would the consumers that rely on the products we manufacture," AHRI President & CEO Stephen Yurek said. "While we have been pleased with the Trump administration's enthusiastic support for manufacturing, we believe this step to be injurious, rather than helpful, to our efforts to increase American manufacturing and create jobs.”
Last summer, Metals Service Center Institute submitted written testimony in the U.S. Commerce Department’s Section 232 aluminum investigation. President and CEO M. Robert Weidner III advised that any remedies imposed by the Trump administration should: