WASHINGTON, June 3 — US President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50 per cent from 25 per cent, starting from Wednesday, ratcheting up pressure on global producers and deepening his trade war.

Here’s a summary of the major trade partners it will affect.

Steel:

Roughly a quarter of all steel used in the US is imported, the bulk of it from neighbours Mexico and Canada or close allies in Asia and Europe such as Japan, South Korea and Germany.

While China is the world’s largest steel producer and exporter, it sends very little to the United States. Tariffs of 25 per cent imposed in 2018 shut most Chinese steel out of the market.

China exported 508,000 net tons of steel to the US last year or 1.8 per cent of total American steel imports.

Aluminium:

For aluminium, the US is more heavily reliant on imports. Roughly half of all aluminium used in the US is imported, with the vast majority coming from Canada. At 3.2 million tons last year, Canadian imports were twice those of the next nine countries combined.

The next largest sources of imports are the United Arab Emirates and China, at 347,034 and 222,872 metric tons, respectively.

The US aluminium smelting industry is small by global standards. Total smelter capacity in the country was just 1.73 per cent of the global total according to the US Geological Survey. — Reuters