Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Updates Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper Imports

The White House

BOLSTERING DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING OF STRATEGIC METALS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation adjusting certain metals tariffs to more effectively address national security threats, spur investment in American agriculture, housing, and manufacturing, and facilitate U.S. production of related products.  

  • The Proclamation adjusts the tariffs on agricultural equipment, like combines and harvesters, as well as certain other equipment, from 25% to 15%.  
  • The Proclamation also expands the existing category of industrial equipment subject to a 15% tariff to include mobile industrial equipment, like bulldozers and forklifts, when imported from trade deal countries that are entitled to such treatment. 
  • The Proclamation encourages foreign companies to use more U.S. steel and aluminum by allowing them to qualify for a 10% duty rate, if their capital equipment include at least 85% U.S. melted and poured or smelted and cast steel or aluminum by weight. 
  • These tariff changes are temporary, lasting until December 31, 2027, to spur near–term investments that will rebuild the Nation’s industrial base.

STRENGTHENING CRITICAL AMERICAN INDUSTRIES: President Trump has utilized tariffs on imported aluminum, steel, and copper to protect the national security of the United States, the economic resilience of vital industries, and the financial position of American families, communities, and businesses from the threat of low-priced foreign imports.  

  • In 2025, the United States became the third largest steel producing nation in the world, surging past rival economies—thanks to President Trump’s Section 232 tariffs program. New steel plants are being built in America, for the first time in a generation, revitalizing our great steel communities and providing good-paying jobs for American workers.
    • Over 4 million tons of new crude steelmaking capacity is expected to become operational in the next two years, including in West Virginia, Arkansas, and South Carolina, with additional investments underway across the country.
  • New investment in U.S. aluminum and copper smelting is also underway across America. Earlier this year, Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminum announced a joint venture to build the first new aluminum smelter in the United States in decades, in Oklahoma. Companies such as Highland Copper, Ivanhoe Electric, Rio Tinto, and Wieland are expanding U.S. copper mining, smelting, and fabrication facilities.
  • This buildout — and the continued health of these vital American industries — is only possible through the continued implementation and strengthening of the President’s Section 232 tariff programs. These tariffs ensure domestic producers and workers can compete on a level playing field with foreign producers.

PUTTING AMERICAN PRODUCTION FIRST: Today’s action builds on the previous actions taken by President Trump utilizing Section 232 to strengthen national security while uplifting the economic position of American workers, families, and communities. 

  • In his first term, President Trump revolutionized international trade by using Section 232 to address decades of short-sighted, globalist trade policies that had allowed domestic steel and aluminum industries to weaken, impairing our national security.
  • This term, President Trump has continued taking actions under Section 232 to protect and strengthen domestic manufacturing critical for our national and economic security, including imposing tariffs and directing negotiations with trading partners covering a variety of goods, including steel, aluminum, copper, trucks and automobiles, timber, lumber, semiconductors, critical minerals, and pharmaceuticals.
    • These actions strengthen these essential U.S. industries and the U.S. industrial base, ensure domestic producers and workers can compete on a level playing field, protect American jobs, and bolster American national security and public health.
  • In May 2026, U.S. manufacturing grew at its fastest rate in four years, its fifth straight month of expansion — nearly tripling expectations. President Trump’s America First trade policies continue to deliver and strengthen the economy and national security of the United States.
  • Through negotiations and the strategic use of tariffs, President Trump has secured trillions in private and foreign investment to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the United States and the American people.

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