US President Donald Trump’s latest amendment to Section 232 tariffs on Monday June 1 sparked mixed responses from the steel industry, Fastmarkets learned.
The president signed the proclamation on Monday, adjusting the country’s Section 232 tariffs on steel, copper and aluminium by temporarily reducing the duty rate to 15% for certain agricultural equipment, such as combines and harvesters, and residential-use heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems from 25%.
The tariff changes are temporary, according to the White House, lasting until December 31, 2027. The adjustments will become effective for goods imported or withdrawn from bonded warehouses after 12:01am US Eastern time on Monday June 8.
“These temporary reductions show that the administration continues to refine the [Section] 232 derivatives list to ensure the tariffs effectively strengthen domestic steel production while minimizing unintended consequences,” Brandon Farris, executive vice president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 2, characterizing the tariffs as Trump’s “signature trade achievement.”
The US steel industry is committed to “maintaining the Section 232 steel tariff program,” the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) said; according to AISI, the program has resulted in spurring domestic investment and been crucial in curbing the negative impacts of global steel excess capacity due to foreign subsidies and other trade-distorting practices.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the administration to maintain strong demand for American-made steel throughout the economy,” Kevin Dempsey, AISI president and chief executive officer, told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.
“The real significance here is that Washington is reducing investment risk for domestic steel producers,” Samir Kapadia, managing principal of the Vogel Group, told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.
Kapadia added: “When a company evaluates a billion-dollar expansion, it now has greater confidence that US policy will support domestic production for years, not months.”
But Trump’s latest tariff actions sparked some skepticism from other members in the industry.
“With several Section 232 decisions on the horizon, we remain concerned with the effects that broad, and potentially stacking, tariffs that could be prescribed through these national security investigations would have on domestic manufacturing,” Jeannette Chu, vice president of national security policy at the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), said in a statement on Monday.
The NFTC executive added: “Tariffs on industrial equipment, parts and components for robotics, medical devices and derivative semiconductor products would threaten the competitiveness of America’s most dynamic industries at a time when many companies are building factories and investing in capital equipment.”
The tariff adjustment is “going to be complicated for importers of products containing steel or copper,” a trader told Fastmarkets. “The end result will be a reduction of indirect steel imports such as appliances and agricultural products and increased steel consumption in the US.”
Section 232 tariffs on steel imports
Section 232 tariffs on steel were raised to 50% from 25% on June 4, 2025, shrinking the volume of steel shipped to the US.
The US imported 1.70 million tonnes of steel in April, down by 184,236 tonnes, or 9.77%, from 1.89 million tonnes imported in April 2025, preliminary data from the International Trade Administration showed.
The volume of steel that entered the US in April was also lower by 841,843 tonnes, or 33.10%, imported in April 2024, at 2.54 million tonnes, the data showed.
