The United States' plan to introduce new 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the country could potentially disrupt the supply of these essential materials and further strain the ties with its neighboring economic partners such as Canada and Mexico, analysts said.
The tariffs, if implemented, will have significant impact on Canada, Brazil and Mexico, which jointly accounted for half of US imports of steel over the January-November period last year, said Wang Guoqing, research director at the Beijing Lange Steel Information Research Center.
"China shipped 890,000 metric tons of steel to the United States in 2024, which accounted for only 0.8 percent of its overall exports. Consequently, any additional tariffs imposed by the US are expected to have limited effect on China's steel export sector," Wang said.
China only accounted for 1.7 percent of the US steel imports over the period, while the corresponding figures for South Korea, Japan and Germany combined reached more than 17 percent, she added.
The White House's strategy of using tariffs to shield certain domestic industries from foreign competition has not only failed to deliver on its promises but has also created new problems for the US economy, said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
These protectionist measures have disrupted global supply chains and undermined the competitiveness of US industries that rely on imported materials, Zhou added.
During his first term, US President Trump imposed 25 percent and 10 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, respectively, but later granted duty-free quotas to several trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The World Trade Organization issued a ruling in December 2022 that declared the US' tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products in 2018 to be in violation of the organization's rule and regulations.
