Steel, aluminum tariffs rise to 50% -- Experts say higher consumer prices are coming to US

While some praise the action, others worry about its impact on household budgets

The impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs will soon be felt by many.

As of Wednesday (June 4), U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum have doubled to 50%.

While some praise the action, others worry about its impact on household budgets.

Justin Wolfers, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, said, “What this is going to do is jack up the price of steel, which then jacks up the price of inputs for American manufacturers.”

While it won’t immediately impact consumers’ wallets, experts say higher prices are inevitable for everything from appliances to canned goods to cars.

Wolfers said, “The thing that steel tariffs do is they help Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, of course, is steel; that is where they make steel. But I’m coming to you from just outside Detroit, and here we make cars, and a lot of manufacturing and almost every other part of the manufacturing industry uses steel."

The Steel Manufacturers Association praised the move in a statement, writing, “This action will strengthen a vital industry that has suffered from global overcapacity largely driven by China.”

Jojo Burgess, the mayor of Washington, Pennsylvania, and a member of the United Steelworkers Union, said, “Listen, we’re going to make our money, but others are going to lose. And we got to make sure that we balance that.”

Burgess describes the news as a double-edged sword.

“The yo-yo effect of the tariffs has created a lot of instability. We don’t have enough consistency because we might be here next week talking about it being back to 25% because they’re working on a deal,” Burgess said.

Experts also warn that there are more jobs at risk than are protected by the tariffs.

Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary, said, “The net effect of this is going to be to destroy manufacturing jobs.”