Australia's trade minister responded that its steel and aluminium exports to the US create "good paying American jobs" and are key to shared defence interests, as Canberra presses Washington for an exemption to President Donald Trump's planned tariffs.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said on Monday that Australia, a key U.S. security ally in the Indo-Pacific, was making the case for "free and fair trade, including access into the U.S. market for Australian steel and aluminium" in meetings with the Trump administration.
"Australian steel and aluminium is creating thousands of good paying American jobs, and are key for our shared defence interests," he said in a statement.
Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way to the NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans, said he will announce the new metals tariffs on Monday.
He also said he will announce reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday, to take effect almost immediately, applying them to all countries and matching the tariff rates levied by each country. “And very simply, it's, if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said of the reciprocal tariff plan.
The largest sources of US steel imports are Canada, Brazil and Mexico, followed by South Korea and Vietnam, according to government and American Iron and Steel Institute data.
By a large margin, hydropower-rich Canada is the largest supplier of primary aluminum metal to the U.S., accounting for 79% of total imports in the first 11 months of 2024.
“Canadian steel and aluminum support key industries in the US from defence, shipbuilding and auto,” Canadian Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne posted on X.
“We will continue to stand up for Canada, our workers, and our industries.”
Trump also said that while the US government would allow Japan's Nippon Steel to invest in US Steel, it would not allow this to become a majority stake.
“Tariffs are going to make it very successful again, and I think it has good management,” Trump said of US Steel.
Nippon Steel declined to comment on the latest announcements from Trump.
Trump during his first term imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, but later granted several trading partners duty-free exemptions, including Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
Mexico is a major supplier of aluminum scrap and aluminum alloy.
Former President Joe Biden later negotiated duty-free quota arrangements with Britain, the European Union and Japan. It was not immediately clear from Trump's announcement what will happen to those exemptions and quota arrangements.
“Quebec exports 2.9 million tons of aluminum to (the US), that is, 60% of their needs. Do they prefer to get supplies from China?" Francois Legault, premier of Quebec, said on X.
“All this shows that we must begin to renegotiate our free trade agreement with the United States as soon as possible and not wait for the review planned for 2026. We must put an end to this uncertainty.”
Steel mill capacity usage jumped to levels above 80% in 2019 after Trump's initial tariffs, but has fallen since then as China's global dominance of the sector has pushed down steel prices. A Missouri aluminum smelter revived by the tariffs was idled last year by Magnitude 7 Metals.
Trump said he would hold a news conference on Tuesday or Wednesday to provide detailed information on the reciprocal tariff plan, adding that he first revealed on Friday that he was planning reciprocal tariffs to ensure “that we're treated evenly with other countries.”
The new US president has long complained about the EU's 10% tariffs on auto imports being much higher than the US car rate of 2.5%. He frequently states that Europe “won't take our cars” but ships millions west across the Atlantic every year.
The US, however, enjoys a 25% tariff on pickup trucks, a vital source of profits for Detroit automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis' US operations.
The US trade-weighted average tariff rate is about 2.2%, according to World Trade Organization data, compared to 12% for India, 6.7% for Brazil, 5.1% for Vietnam and 2.7% for European Union countries.
In a separate Fox News interview, Trump said Canada's and Mexico's actions to secure their US borders and halt the flow of drugs and migrants are insufficient ahead of a March 1 tariff deadline.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 25% on all Mexican and Canadian imports unless America's two largest trading partners take stronger actions. He paused the tariffs until March 1 after some initial border security concessions from the two countries, with Mexico pledging to add 10,000 National Guard troops to its border and Canada deploying new technology and personnel and taking new anti-fentanyl steps.
Asked whether Mexico's and Canada's actions were good enough, Trump replied: “No, it's not good enough,” Trump said.
“Something has to happen, it's not sustainable, and I'm changing it.”
Trump did not say what Canada and Mexico needed to do to avoid broad tariffs on March 1.
Farrell is yet to meet with his U.S. counterpart who has not been confirmed in the role, but Australian officials have been making representations on aluminium and steel exports for several months, seeking to secure a similar exemption from tariffs it won during the previous Trump presidency in 2018.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told national parliament on Monday he was scheduled to talk with Trump and would raise the matter.
"We will continue to make the case to the United States for Australia to be given an exemption to any steel and aluminium tariffs," he said in parliament.
Defence Minister Richard Marles met his U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington on Friday, with Australia making its first $500 million payment to boost production in the U.S.
submarine industry under the AUKUS defence project that will see Australia buy several U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and also build submarines.
Australian processed steel was purchased by the largest U.S.
military shipbuilder as AUKUS partners Australia, Britain and the U.S. seek to integrate defence supply chains, the Australian government said last year.
Shares in Australian-listed BlueScope Steel rose nearly 2% on expectations its U.S. business would gain from the tariffs. It operates the North Star Mill in Ohio and employs around 4,000 people in the United States.
