BBC: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Donald Trump has announced the US will double its current tariff rate on steel and aluminium imports from 25% to 50%, starting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump said the move would help boost the local steel industry and national supply, while decreasing reliance on China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also said that $14bn would be invested into the area’s steel production through a partnership between US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. Details on the partnership are still unclear and both companies have yet to confirm a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement is the latest turn in Trump’s rollercoaster approach to tariffs since re-entering office in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There will be no layoffs and no outsourcing whatsoever, and every US steelworker will soon receive a well deserved $5,000 bonus,” Trump told the crowd, filled with steelworkers, to raucous applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the major concerns from steelworkers about the US-Japan trade deal was how Japan would honour workers’ union contract which regulates pay and hiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump began his remarks by saying he “saved” US Steel, America’s biggest steel manufacturer, located in Pittsburgh, with the 25% steel tariffs he implemented during his first term as president in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He touted the increase to 50% as a way to ensure US Steel’s survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“At 50%, they can no longer get over the fence,” he said. “We are once again going to put Pennsylvania steel into the backbone of America, like never before.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n