- Dow plummets more than 500 points after Trump announces tariffs
President Donald Trump said Thursday his administration will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as early as next week, a highly controversial move that Trump framed along economic and national security lines.
Trump said the US will impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% tariff on aluminum to shore up the struggling industries in the USA, capping a fierce, months-long internal debate that divided some of the President’s top advisers.
The move is likely to invite retaliatory measures from foreign countries, raising the specter of a trade war between the US and several other steel-producing countries.
It was not immediately clear whether the tariffs would be phased out over time and whether Trump would follow the advice of his national security advisers and exempt some countries from the tariffs to avoid harming key steel-producing US allies.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street is worried about a trade war.
The Dow dropped more than 500 points on Thursday after President Trump said his administration will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 declined about 1.5% apiece.
Trump’s controversial tariff announcement caught investors off guard and immediately raised concerns about retaliation from China or other major U.S. trading partners. – CNN