‘Unjustified’: Donald Trump claims steel tariff will double, as Australia lashes surprise move

Donald Trump has doubled down on an ‘an act of economic self harm’ by threatening to double the steel tariff to 50 per cent, Australia’s trade minister says.

Donald Trump has claimed the tariff rate on steel will double to 50 per cent, drawing the ire of the Australian government.

The US President blurted out the latest development in his trade war at a steel mill rally in Pennsylvania, on Saturday morning Australian time.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said the latest tariff hike was unjustified.

“Australia’s position has been consistent and clear. These tariffs are unjustified and not the act of a friend,” he said in a statement.

“They are an act of economic self harm that will only hurt consumers and businesses who rely on free and fair trade.

“We will continue to engage and advocate strongly for the removal of the tariffs.”

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell says the US tariffs are not act of a friend. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

US government data shows the price of steel products into the US have increased by 16 per cent since Trump’s second term began.

Australian car parts, steel and aluminium are currently being slapped with a 25 per cent levy, as per Trump’s sweeping protectionist policies.

Shadow trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said the US President’s latest move was “concerning for Australian jobs” and urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to meet in person with Mr Trump as soon as possible.

“The Albanese government needs to double its efforts to protect our steel industry and local jobs for our steel workers,” he said.

“We expect the United States to honour its obligations under the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), just as Australia has always done. The strength of our economic partnership has been built on trust and mutual benefit, and any deviation from this agreement undermines the principles of free trade.”

Mr Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on Friday was near a factory owned by US Steel, and the President said Japanese steel giant Nippon had invested in the American firm.

The latest announcement was made at a steel mill on Friday night, US time. Picture: Jeff Swensen / Getty Images via AFP

“We’re here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storeyed American company stays an American company,” the President said.

“You’re going to stay an American company, you know that, right?”

“If you don’t have steel, you don’t have a country. You don’t have a country, you can’t make a military. What are we going to do? Say, ‘Let’s go to China to get our steel from the army tanks’,” Trump said.

The Trump administration initially promised to block Nippon’s bid to buy US Steel. Details of the “blockbuster agreement” have not been released. Nippon confirmed in a statement a proposed “partnership” had been agreed to.

This week a US trade court blocked most of President Trump’s tariffs, ruling he had overstepped Congress in using emergency powers to regulate trade.

In March, Australian steel giant BlueScope said it was disappointed not to receive a tariff exemption from the US administration. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

The ruling did not apply to the steel, aluminium and vehicle tariffs, however, which were imposed using different laws.

The Trump administration immediately filed an appeal to the Court of International Trade’s decision and questioned the authority of the court.

The court decision was released on Wednesday US time, and financial markets rallied on the news.

The lawsuit was filed by 12 US states, plus five small businesses who argued the tariffs hurt their ability to do business. If allowed by the courts, the administration’s appeal would next go to the Court of Appeals, and then the Supreme Court if necessary.

Australia is one of the few countries which buys more from the US than we sell to the nation.

NewsWire has contacted some of Australia’s largest steel manufacturers for comment, following the latest tariff increase threat.

BlueScope employs about 4000 Americans, with its major US plant being in Ohio.

However, the company exports about 300,000 tonnes of semi-processed steel from Australia to the US each year.

Originally published as ‘Unjustified’: Donald Trump claims steel tariff will double, as Australia lashes surprise move