US President Donald Trump announced that he will double tariffs on steel imports to 50%. Speaking in Pennsylvania at the US Steel plant, he also praised the partnership between the American steel manufacturer and Japan's Nippon Steel.

“We will increase them from 25% to 50%—the tariffs on steel imported into the United States, which will provide even greater security for the steel industry,” he said.

“No one will be able to get around this,” he added in his speech to workers in this key state, which helped him win last year's election.

The doubling of tariffs will take effect next week, the White House said in a social media post.

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed drastic tariffs on both allies and adversaries, shaking up the global trading order and roiling financial markets.

He imposed 25 percent tariffs on goods from specific sectors, including steel, aluminum, and automobiles.

On May 30, Trump defended his trade policy, saying that tariffs help protect American companies.

He added that the plant would not exist if he had not imposed tariffs on metal imports during his first term.

In his speech, Trump also stressed that despite the recently announced partnership between US Steel and Nippon Steel, “US Steel will continue to be controlled by the US.”

He added that there would be no job cuts or outsourcing as a result of the deal.

The proposed sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion sparked bipartisan opposition, and former President Joe Biden blocked the deal on national security grounds shortly before leaving office.

However, the terms of the new partnership remain unclear.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union, which represents thousands of hourly workers at US Steel plants, said the announcement of the “partnership” “continues to raise more questions than it answers.”

“Nippon still insists that it will only invest in USS plants if it owns the company outright. We see nothing in the reports that indicates this position has changed,” the USW added.

Trump said earlier that US Steel would remain in America and its headquarters would remain in Pittsburgh, adding that the agreement with Nippon would create at least 70,000 jobs and bring $14 billion to the US economy.

However, union leaders said they had no confirmation of how much of the $14 billion would be earmarked for union-represented sites, if any.

Trump opposed the plan to take over Nippon Steel during his election campaign, but after returning to the presidency, he signaled that he would still be open to some form of investment. | BGNES