Trump to Impose Sweeping Steel and Aluminum Tariffs<br />In a hastily arranged meeting with industry executives<br />that stunned many inside the West Wing, Mr. Trump said he would formally sign the trade measures next week and promised they would be in effect “for a long period of time.” The action, which came against the wishes of Mr. Trump’s pro-trade advisers, would impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, effectively placing a tax on every foreign shipment of those metals into the United States.<br />Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian minister of foreign affairs, called any measure<br />that deemed Canadian trade a national security threat “entirely inappropriate.”<br />“Should restrictions be imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum products, Canada will<br />take responsive measures to defend its trade interests and workers,” she said.<br />But in recent weeks, a group of White House advisers who advocate a tougher posture on trade has been in ascendance, including Robert E. Lighthizer, the country’s top trade negotiator<br />and a former steel industry lawyer; Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary who led the metals investigation; and Peter Navarro, a trade skeptic who had been sidelined but is now in line for a promotion.<br />The departure of Mr. Porter, who organized weekly trade policy meetings and coordinated the trade advisers, has helped fuel a chaotic situation<br />that has descended into an all-out war among various trade advisers, people close to the White House said.<br />Mr. Trump’s announcement came despite months of heavy pushback from American companies<br />that use metals in their products, like automakers and food packagers, and foreign officials, who warned that tariffs would strain relations and could prompt retaliatory trade actions.
