White House denies reports of steel, aluminum tariff rollback

The White House pushed back against recent reports flagging a potential rollback of the 50% steel and aluminum tariffs, saying they are "baseless speculation," a Trump administration official told Platts on Feb. 13.

The Financial Times on Feb. 13, citing anonymous sources, said the Trump administration would scale back tariffs on steel and aluminum imports because of higher prices for goods like food and drink, which depend on the metals for packaging. President Donald Trump doubled the metals tariffs to 50% in June 2025, citing the need to boost domestic production and reduce reliance on foreign imports.

"The Trump administration is accordingly implementing a nimble and nuanced tariffs agenda to most effectively re-shore steel, aluminum and other key manufacturing back to the United States," a White House official said in an email to Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

"Unless officially announced by the administration, however, any reporting about changes to our current tariff regime is baseless speculation," the official added.

Canada is the largest US supplier of primary aluminum, accounting for about two-thirds of all primary aluminum consumed in the US, according to the Aluminum Association. Canada, Brazil, the EU and Mexico are key US sources of steel, though imports declined in 2025 as suppliers exported less material to the US to avoid high duty rates.

Peter Navarro, Trump's senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, also rejected the Financial Times report, calling it "fake news based on anonymous sources out to sabotage Trump trade policy," he said in a social media post.

Navarro did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

News of the potential tariff changes prompted responses from industry trade groups, including the American Iron and Steel Institute.

The national security steel tariffs, implemented under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, are critical to US industry, Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said in a Feb. 13 statement.

"The Section 232 steel tariffs imposed by President Trump are essential to prevent this overcapacity from fueling new surges of harmful imports into the US market, which would cause a profound threat to American national security and undermine the health of the American steel industry," Dempsey said.

The US-based Aluminum Association said in an email to Platts on Feb. 13 that it supported tariffs on aluminum derivative products, though the trade organization has pushed back on blanket 50% duties for primary aluminum, especially from trade partners such as Canada.

"The strong and targeted trade enforcement provided by expanded Section 232 coverage of aluminum derivative products is critical to maintaining a level playing field for US producers," Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, said in a statement sent to Platts.

"Ensuring that unfairly traded aluminum cannot circumvent tariffs through downstream products strengthens domestic manufacturing, drives investment and supports American jobs," Johnson said.

The Trump administration is awaiting a Supreme Court decision on whether the president has the authority to implement country-specific tariffs imposed on dozens of US trading partners under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. These tariffs differ from the 50% Section 232 sectoral tariffs imposed on copper, steel and aluminum. Unless the administration decides otherwise, the sectoral tariffs will remain in effect regardless of the high court's decision.