President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday, targeting critical industrial goods after shoring up trade relations with Japan and setting the stage for what is expected to be a lengthy economic showdown with China.
“Very simply, it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said over the weekend.
Aluminum and steel are key materials in industrial manufacturing, an industry Trump hopes to resuscitate in the U.S. economy. To that end, he further announced during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that he had convinced Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel rather than buy it outright.
“Very exciting”
“So they’ve agreed to invest heavily in US Steel, as opposed to own it. And that sounds very exciting,” he said. Last year, the Japanese firm reached an agreement to purchase the iconic American company. The announcement drew outrage from the American public and Trump vowed during the campaign that he would stop the deal.
Trump’s approach to tackling a trade war thus far appears to be addressing trade deficits with key allies to bolster American industry while imposing tariffs on critical Chinese goods. […]
— Read More: justthenews.com
