OPINION:
President Trump has declared reciprocal tariffs on foreign countries to “immediately bring Fairness and Prosperity back into the previously complex and unfair system of trade.” By strengthening the Section 232 program, our president recognizes that domestic aluminum and steel production is critical to national and economic security.
Having served 14 years in Congress and most recently as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy, climate and grid security, I understand firsthand how critical domestic aluminum production, as well as domestic sourcing and processing of critical minerals, is to securing our national grid and national security.
Under President Biden’s leadership, we were forced to rely on foreign countries for critical parts needed for the U.S. national grid and our military hardware. Recognizing the importance of U.S.-made aluminum and steel, I applauded Mr. Trump’s leadership on the House floor when he imposed the 2018 tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
After Mr. Trump acted to save the aluminum and steel industries in 2018, billions of dollars were invested, and production expanded. Once the Section 232 aluminum tariffs were imposed, U.S. producers such as Magnitude 7 Metals and Century Aluminum could restart idled capacity. Mr. Trump’s actions helped revitalize America’s aluminum and steel industries and nearly doubled U.S. primary aluminum production.
Once they assumed office, Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ended Mr. Trump’s “Golden Age” of steel and aluminum manufacturing. Rather than enforce Mr. Trump’s program, Mr. Biden gave foreign countries such as Mexico, Canada, Argentina and Australia a blank check to flood our country with unfairly traded aluminum and steel imports, destroying thousands of American manufacturing jobs.
During Mr. Trump’s first administration, a few foreign countries were granted limited exemptions with strings attached and monitoring systems in place. After Mr. Trump left office, these foreign countries went wild. Australian Foreign Minister Don Farrell acknowledged that under Mr. Biden, “the country had increased aluminum supply to the U.S.” and doubled its primary aluminum exports into the U.S. market. As a result of the unfair practices, Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro declared that “Australia is just killing our aluminum market.”
Leveraging Mr. Biden’s weakness, the People’s Republic of China and Russia aggressively moved their aluminum product through Mexico and Canada using loopholes to evade and circumvent tariffs. Left unchecked, imports of Canadian aluminum surged far above historic norms. This flood of foreign aluminum decimated communities across America’s heartland, and U.S. aluminum smelters were forced to shut down. Alcoa announced the idling of the Washington state Intalco smelter in the second quarter of 2022, and it permanently closed in March 2023. Century Aluminum was forced to idle its Hawesville, Kentucky, smelter in June 2022, and Magnitude 7 Metals shut down its New Madrid smelter in early 2024.
With the historic inauguration of Donald J. Trump as our 47th president, we have seen a renewed focus on protecting domestic manufacturing from foreign countries that cheat and hurt our great American workers. Mr. Trump reinstated a 25% tariff on steel imports to strengthen and rebuild our aluminum and steel industries. He raised the aluminum tariff from 10% to 25%, which is great news for thousands of American aluminum workers and their families. Mr. Trump also showed tremendous leadership by eliminating all country-specific exemptions and committed to closing all the loopholes that benefited foreign workers but did not help put America first.
The new Trump tariffs will end China, Russia and foreign countries’ use of Canada and Mexico as third-party transshipment hubs. They will ensure that aluminum imports, regardless of processing location, are subject to tariffs unless smelted and cast in the United States. The 25% tariffs for steel and aluminum will come into effect in early March, and they will be a game-changer for domestic aluminum and steel manufacturing.
Mr. Trump was reelected on a promise to fight for America’s forgotten men and women who stood firm with him last year. Mr. Trump is taking decisive action to rebuild the domestic steel and aluminum industries while ending Mr. Biden’s failed policies.
With the stroke of a pen, Mr. Trump has taken action to put American workers first. Now is the time to come together to support Mr. Trump’s trade agenda. Under his leadership, we will unleash a new “Golden Age” of economic prosperity for our people and make our country great again.
• Former Rep. Jeff Duncan, South Carolina Republican, has served as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy, climate and grid security. He served eight terms in the House from 2011 to 2025.
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