In a fiery speech delivered to a crowd of steelworkers in Pittsburgh on Friday, former President Donald Trump announced he will double U.S. tariffs on imported steel, raising them from 25 percent to 50 percent starting next week. The move is aimed at further bolstering the American steel industry, Trump said, though he provided few details about how the increase will be implemented amid ongoing legal challenges.
“We are going to be imposing a 25 percent increase, we’re going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent,” Trump declared from a podium surrounded by workers and campaign signs. “Nobody’s gonna get around that… Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA.”
Trump’s speech came at a rally organized to highlight a major shift in U.S. industrial policy: the recent acquisition of iconic American manufacturer U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel. Though Trump initially opposed the foreign takeover, he has since embraced it as a “planned partnership,” touting its projected $14 billion economic impact and the creation of 70,000 new U.S. jobs.
“This is the largest investment in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Trump posted last week on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The bulk of that investment will occur in the next 14 months.”
Tariffs in Legal Limbo
Trump’s aggressive trade posture, a hallmark of his economic agenda during his first term, is already facing stiff headwinds. Just this week, two separate federal courts ruled against his authority to impose tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977—a Cold War-era law designed to allow the president to take swift action in response to foreign threats.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade declared Trump’s broad application of the law to global tariffs unlawful, saying it exceeded the powers granted under IEEPA. A three-judge panel ruled that the act was never intended for unilateral economic decisions like the steel tariffs, dealing a serious blow to Trump’s legal standing.
Then on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington, D.C., issued a separate ruling blocking the use of IEEPA to justify tariffs that negatively impacted two Illinois companies. While Contreras stayed his decision for 14 days to allow the administration to appeal, legal experts warn the ruling could open the door for a wave of lawsuits from other firms affected by Trump’s tariff policy.
In response, Trump lashed out at the judiciary.
“The ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade is so wrong, and so political!” he wrote on Truth Social. “Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country-threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY. Backroom ‘hustlers’ must not be allowed to destroy our Nation!”
Despite the courts’ pushback, Trump’s team moved quickly to appeal both rulings. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has temporarily paused the lower court decision pending review.
Economic Impact Debated
Trump’s proposed tariff hike is drawing mixed reactions. Supporters, particularly in domestic manufacturing and union sectors, argue that higher tariffs are necessary to counteract years of cheap steel imports that have weakened U.S. producers. They see the move as a reinforcement of America’s industrial base.
But critics, including many economists and business leaders, warn that such a drastic increase will ultimately raise costs for American companies and consumers. Steel is a key component in construction, manufacturing, and automobile production—industries that could see input costs spike.
“Tariffs are effectively taxes on American businesses,” said Ellen Grainger, a senior economist at the Brookings Institution. “Raising them to 50 percent may protect a few thousand steel jobs in the short term, but the ripple effects on pricing and global trade relationships could be much more damaging in the long run.”
Politics and the Road Ahead
The announcement also comes at a politically sensitive time, as Trump ramps up his 2024 presidential campaign with a platform focused heavily on economic nationalism. His speech in Pittsburgh was widely seen as an effort to regain momentum among Rust Belt voters, a demographic crucial to his electoral strategy.
While the legality of the tariffs remains in flux, Trump’s team appears undeterred. A senior campaign adviser, speaking on background, said they expect “a Supreme Court battle” and are prepared to fight to preserve what they see as a legacy-defining policy.
.png)
