Fact Sheets

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

The White House

April 2, 2026

BOLSTERING DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING OF STRATEGIC METALS AND THEIR DERIVATIVES: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation to strengthen tariffs imposed on imported steel, aluminum, and copper in order to more effectively address the national-security threat posed by such imports.

• The Proclamation defines the way that tariffs are assessed, ensuring that they reflect the full value of imported steel, aluminum, and copper products—not an artificially low foreign price.

• The Proclamation also establishes clear rules for calculating Section 232 metals tariffs.

  • Articles made entirely or almost entirely of aluminum, steel, or copper will pay a flat 50% on their full value — for example, steel coils and aluminum sheet.
  • Derivative articles substantially made of steel, aluminum, or copper will pay a flat 25% on their full value.
  • Certain metal-intensive industrial equipment and electrical grid equipment will pay 15% through 2027, to accelerate the massive industrial base buildout currently underway across the United States.
  • Products made abroad but entirely with American steel, aluminum, and copper will be subject to lower tariffs of 10%.
  • Products made of 15% or less steel, aluminum, or copper will no longer be subject to Section 232 metals tariffs. STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY: President Trump has strengthened tariffs on imported aluminum, steel, and copper to protect the national security of the United States, including the economic resilience of vital industries and the financial position of American workers.

• 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 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.
  PUTTING AMERICAN PRODUCTION FIRST: Today’s Proclamation builds on previous actions taken by President Trump that 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 tariff steel and aluminum imports — addressing decades of short-sighted, globalist trade policies that had allowed these domestic industries to weaken.

• In February 2025, President Trump issued a historic Proclamation overhauling the steel and aluminum tariffs, including by eliminating hundreds of thousands of product-specific exceptions and country-specific exemptions that had accumulated during the Biden years.

• In June 2025, President Trump boldly increased the steel and aluminum tariff rates to 50% — a level strong enough to ensure the strengthening of these critical industries.

• In July 2025, President Trump issued a historic proclamation adding copper to the Section 232 tariffs program, at the same 50% rate as steel and aluminum.

• Through the strategic use of tariffs, President Trump has, among other things, brought hundreds of billions of dollars back to the American people and promoted foreign investment in American commerce and American workers.