Trump Sets 25% Steel, Aluminum Tariffs, Widening Trade War (1)

President Donald Trump ordered a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, escalating his efforts to protect politically important US industries with levies hitting some of the country’s closest allies.

The tariffs will apply widely to all US imports of steel and aluminum, including from Canada and Mexico, among the country’s top foreign suppliers of the metals. The levies, which also include finished metal products, are meant to crack down on what administration officials said were efforts by countries like Russia and China to circumvent existing duties.

Trump cast the effort as one that would help bolster domestic production and ...