U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be increasing tariffs on steel to 50% from 25%, saying the move would help protect American steelworkers during a visit to a United States Steel plant on Friday.
Trump was visiting the plant to champion an expected deal between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel as one that would ensure the iconic American firm remains U.S.-owned and operated, even as many details on the agreement remain vague. He said the tariff increase would benefit the new venture’s U.S. operations.
"I believe that this group of people that just made this investments right now are very happy, because that means that nobody’s going to be able to steal your industry,” Trump said. "It’s at 25%, they can sort of get over that fence, at 50% they can no longer get over the fence.”
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