Trump's expansion of steel and aluminum tariffs could raise these prices
Price increases could hit tableware, motorcycles and assorted children’s products as a result of the Trump administration’s expansion of 50% steel and aluminum tariffs to an additional 400 goods, analysts said.
The fresh levies, which took effect on Monday, extended tariffs on the metal products that Trump initially rolled out in March.
Air-conditioning units, space heaters, high chairs, knives and some furniture items are among the products newly affected by tariffs.
“Basically, if it’s shiny, metallic, or remotely related to steel or aluminum, it’s probably on the list,” Brian Baldwin, vice president of customs at logistics company Kuehne + Nagel International AG, said in a post on LinkedIn.
In a statement on Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department touted the new tariffs as means of preventing importers from finding workarounds.
“Today’s action expands the reach of the steel and aluminum tariffs and shuts down avenues for circumvention – supporting the continued revitalization of the American steel and aluminum industries,” Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler said.
Importers typically offset the tax burden in the form of higher prices for shoppers, though so far tariff-induced price increases have proven marginal. The overall inflation rate stands at 2.7%, below the 3% rate in January, before Trump took office.
In June, Trump ratcheted up a tax on all foreign steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%. The move this week expands those steep levies to hundreds of additional products.
In all, the steel and aluminum tariffs now affect $320 billion worth of products, up from $190 billion prior to the expansion, Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, told ABC News.
In addition to consumer goods, the new levies will hit a range of imported raw materials like auto parts, construction equipment and farming machinery relied upon by domestic producers, Miller said.
“These tariffs will definitely affect U.S. manufacturers,” Miller said, noting the added costs could filter their way into higher consumer prices.
The 50% tariff will apply to the proportion of a good made up of imported steel or aluminum, Miller said. A Germany-made steak knife, for instance, would be tariffed at 50% for its steel content, while the remainder of the product’s value would face a 15% universal levy for goods from the European Union, he added.
