Spanish
The U.S. president announced on Friday that the increase in tariffs on steel from 25% to 50% will take effect on June 4, and clarified that the increase also applies to aluminum.
Bessent stated today on CBS's 'Face the Nation' program that it is still unclear how the tariffs, which will likely cause an increase in steel prices in the United States, will affect the construction industry, as it is a "very complex ecosystem."According to Bessent, tariffs are necessary because “there are national security priorities to have a strong steel industry.”
Trump noted this week that he initially considered increasing these tariffs to 40%, but industry executives asked him to raise them to 50%.
Trump's announcement took place just one day after an Appeals Court lifted the International Trade Court's block on much of the US tariff policy on imports from numerous countries.
This block would not have affected the steel levies, but rather those announced on April 2, which consist of a global tariff of 10% for virtually all U.S. trading partners.
Furthermore, it would have also blocked a proportion - which was frozen until July to sign agreements - that varies by country, based on deficits and trade volumes, and which the White House labeled as "reciprocal tariffs".
