President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico would push steel and aluminum prices across the United States higher, according to Citigroup analysts.
Aluminum and steel face the biggest impacts from Trump’s tariff threat, with Canada and Mexico being major suppliers to the United States, according to analysts led by Alexander Hacking. The United States gets about 70% of its aluminum from abroad, and 60% of that comes from Canada. Steel imports account for 24% of U.S. supplies, with Canada providing about a quarter and Mexico about 15%.
Analysts wrote that the 25% tariffs announced by Trump on Monday would likely cause steel prices to rise by $100 to $150 per US ton (a US ton equals 907.18474 kilograms).
As for aluminium, the premium on London Metal Exchange prices may double to more than 50 additional cents per metric ton, a move that may benefit six local American smelters. However, analysts warn that “reconfiguring the supply chain could take years.”