The Trump administration has announced a revision of tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper. Under the new rule, tariffs will be applied to the total value of the product, not just its metal content. This change comes after months of pressure from companies that claimed they were unfairly affected by previous tariffs on metal imports. Although the administration maintains that these tariffs aim to incentivize domestic manufacturing, their extension to so-called derivative products meant they were applied even to items containing only small amounts of metal. The revised metal tariffs, established under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, come a year after Trump launched his second-term trade agenda. This imposed broad tariffs on goods from dozens of countries with the goal of boosting production in the United States, expanding access to other markets, and rebalancing global trade flows. Under the new structure, goods with a total steel, aluminum, or copper content of less than 15% will be effectively exempt from metal tariffs, according to a White House statement. Other derivative products will be subject to a lower 25% rate if they are considered to be 'substantially transformed' with one of those metals. However, 50% tariffs will remain on a large number of derivative products, including, for example, imported steel pipes. An administration official described the changes as necessary to simplify a complex policy and offer greater fairness to companies that must pay the tariffs. Those who support the revised approach on metals said it will strengthen the administration's efforts to relocate manufacturing in the country.
