Shares of steel stocks were surging Monday morning after President Trump promised to hike tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. He will impose import duties of 25% later this week no matter the source, including shipments from Canada and Mexico.
"Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” Trump said.
Shares of Nucor (NUE) are up 8.3% in morning trading, Steel Dynamics (STLD) was rising 6.7%., and U.S. Steel (X) was 5.1% higher. Aluminum stocks were also moving up as Trump said he'd include it in his tariff order, too.
The tariff threat comes amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners. Trump says these countries have taken advantage of America by imposing tariffs on products shipped to their countries while getting a free ride on their products here. He says he wants to level the playing field.
"If they are charging us 130% and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” Trump said.
Last week he imposed 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, but negotiations quickly saw them shelved for a month as both countries promised to police their borders more tightly.
Trump also intends to impose sweeping tariffs on goods coming in from Europe this week.
Nucor stock is down 28% so far in 2025 while U.S. Steel has gotten a bounce from potential takeover talks with Japan's Nippon Steel. While the Biden administration had blocked Nippon's takeover attempt, Trump has said he would welcome it investing in U.S. Steel though not buying it outright. Steel Dynamics is up 11% this year.
This wouldn't be the first time Trump imposed steel and aluminum tariffs. In 2019 during his first term, he imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
