Trump doubles tariffs on steel imports to 50%

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he would double steel and aluminum import tariffs to 50 percent from next week, the latest salvo in his trade wars aimed at protecting domestic industries.

"We're going to bring it from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America," he said while addressing workers at a US Steel plant in Pennsylvania.

"Nobody's going to get around that," he added in the speech before blue-collar workers in the battleground state that helped deliver his election victory last year.

Shortly after, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the elevated rate would also apply to aluminium, with the new tariffs "effective Wednesday, June 4th."

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on allies and adversaries alike in moves that have rocked the world trade order and roiled financial markets.

The tariffs had seen a brief legal setback earlier this week when a court ruled Trump had overstepped his authority, but an appellate court on Thursday said the tariffs could continue while the litigation moves forward.

Trump has also issued sector-specific levies that affect goods such as automobiles.

On Friday, he defended his trade policies, arguing that tariffs helped protect US industry.

He added that the steel facility he was speaking in would not exist if he had not also imposed duties on metals imports during his first administration.

'Devil in the details'

On Friday, Trump touted a planned partnership between US Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel, but offered few new details on a deal that earlier faced bipartisan opposition.

He stressed that despite a recently announced planned partnership between the American steelmaker and Nippon Steel, "US Steel will continue to be controlled by the USA."

He added that there would be no layoffs or outsourcing of jobs by the company.

Upon returning to Washington late Friday, Trump told reporters he had yet to approve the deal.

"I have to approve the final deal with Nippon, and we haven't seen that final deal yet, but they've made a very big commitment," Trump said.

Agence France-Presse