Trump lowered the tariff rates on steel, aluminum and copper derivatives imported from the United States.
April 3, 2026
On Thursday, April 2nd, US President Trump adjusted the national security tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum and copper, lowering the tariff rates for derivative products made from these metals, simplifying the compliance procedures, and preventing underreporting of import declaration values.
A senior official from the Trump administration said that according to the announcement signed by Trump, the United States will continue to impose a 50% import tariff on steel, aluminum and other metal commodities under Section 232 of the 1974 Trade Act. However, this tariff rate will be applied to the prices paid by American consumers. It is not yet clear how the selling prices - and the resulting tariffs - will be determined.
The official said that some importers had previously declared lower import values in order to reduce the cost of tariffs.
Other adjustments announced by Trump administration officials include: If the content of steel, aluminum or copper in derivative products is less than 15% by weight, the 50% tariff previously imposed on such derivative products will be waived. The official said that this move will exempt products with very low metal content from being subject to the Section 232 tariffs, such as perfume bottles with aluminum caps, or toothpick boxes with very small steel cutting blades.
If the content of steel, aluminium or copper in the derivative product by weight exceeds 15%, a lower 25% tariff will apply, and it will be levied based on the total value of the imported goods, rather than only on the metal content portion. Therefore, a washing machine or gas stove mainly made of steel will be uniformly subject to a 25% ad valorem tariff.
This adjustment is aimed at simplifying the previously overly complex tariff system. Previously, importers often found it troublesome to determine the metal content value of thousands of derivative products ranging from tractor parts to stainless steel sinks and railway equipment.
