Trump raises tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50%: What to expect from the Paris negotiations?
By
The New Obs
Published on , updated on
Donald Trump at the US Steel Corporation's Mon Valley Works-Irvin plant on May 30, 2025, in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/AP/SIPA
This new surge in tariff fever comes as the White House's trade representative is scheduled to meet with the European Trade Commissioner on the sidelines of an OECD meeting, which is scheduled to conclude this Wednesday.
This Wednesday, June 4, negotiations with several of the United States' trading partners are scheduled to take place in Paris, as Donald Trump has just doubled the stakes on steel and aluminum imports, raising sectoral customs duties to 50%.
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In a decree published on Tuesday and which came into effect at 00:01 local time (6:01 in Paris), the White House tenant justified this increase by the desire to "ensure that [imports] will not jeopardize national security."
The customs surcharges imposed by Donald Trump on his partners will weigh heavily on American and global growth , warned the OECD – an organization that brings together 38 developed countries – which now predicts a sharp slowdown in American growth this year due to Trump's customs attacks, expected at 1.6% compared to 2.4% before the billionaire's arrival in the White House.
End of customs duty break on July 9
Steel and aluminum were the first sectors affected by the customs duties wanted by Donald Trump , with the entry into force of a 25% surcharge on March 12, in the stated desire to encourage investment in the country.
And these sectoral customs duties, also applied to the automobile industry before soon being extended to pharmaceutical products and semiconductors, are the only ones not to have been blocked by a recent court decision , which targeted customs duties applied indiscriminately.
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The new surge in tariff fever comes as White House Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is scheduled to meet with European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is scheduled to conclude this Wednesday.
The discussions are tense, as Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with a 50% tariff surcharge, accusing the bloc of not negotiating in good faith. They come amid heightened tensions, as the end of the 90-day pause, announced in the wake of the so-called "reciprocal" customs duties, is scheduled for July 9.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed Tuesday that "USTR has sent [a] letter to all of our trading partners as a friendly reminder that the deadline is approaching."
"Keep your cool"
Europe has already stated that it is prepared to respond in the event of a tariff increase targeting it specifically. On the sidelines of the OECD meeting, Jamieson Greer announced that he would meet with his Vietnamese and Malaysian counterparts.
A meeting of G7 trade representatives (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) will also take place this Wednesday at 7 a.m. (local time, 1 p.m. in Paris) at the Canadian representation of the OECD, less than two weeks before a summit of heads of state and government from June 15 to 17 in the Canadian Rockies.
"We must reach negotiated solutions as quickly as possible, because time is of the essence," German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the conference. "We must remain calm and always demonstrate that the implementation of these customs duties is in no one's interest, starting with the American economy," said French Minister for Foreign Trade Laurent Saint-Martin, also on the sidelines of the OECD meeting.
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And uncertainty could continue to weigh on the global economy, as the American president accused Beijing last week of not respecting the terms of the de-escalation agreement signed in mid-May in Geneva and threatening to reignite the trade war.
According to Washington, the cause is the slow approval of rare metal exports to the United States. But negotiations are "progressing well," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender on Monday. The White House said Tuesday that Donald Trump hoped to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, "probably this week."
Before the 50% surcharge was raised, Canada, the United States' largest supplier of steel and aluminum, said the tariffs were "illegal and unjustified." Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said his country would request an exemption on Friday, calling the measures "absurd ." Mexico sends 80% of its exports to the United States.
Growth of almost every economy revised downwards
"The global economic environment has become much more difficult," acknowledged the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Mathias Cormann, during a press conference at the institution's headquarters in Paris on Tuesday, citing the new situation regarding customs duties.
As a result of US trade policy, "we have revised downwards the growth of almost every economy in the world," the institution's chief economist, Alvaro Pereira, told AFP in an interview on the eve of the publication of the OECD's economic forecasts.
Global growth will suffer, expected to reach 2.9% this year and next, down 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points respectively from the OECD's previous estimates in March. This would be the weakest annual growth since the Covid-19 pandemic.
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US growth will "sharply slow," the OECD predicts: gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 1.6% in 2025, compared to the 2.2% forecast in March. The slowdown is more modest for 2026, with 1.5% compared to the 1.6% forecast in March.
In addition to the trade war, "a further contraction in net immigration and a reduction in the number of US federal government employees are expected to weaken US growth," the OECD continued, referring to the policy implemented by Donald Trump.
"Thanks to tariffs, our economy is BOOMING," the US president boasted on his Truth Social network on Tuesday, shortly before the OECD presentation. Inflation in the United States is also expected to remain at a high level, the OECD adds, predicting 3.2% this year and 2.8% next year, about a point higher than in the eurozone.
