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The steel industry in the Americas underwent seismic changes in 2025, driven primarily by US President Donald Trump’s “US first” trade policy that deployed tariffs — often through executive orders — as an effective tool to remake global trade flows.
At the onset of 2025, steel market participants in the US predicted the second Trump administration would implement metals tariffs that would curb imports and boost domestic production.
For example, during US steelmaker Nucor’s fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call on January 28, chief executive officer Leon Topalian said an aggressive tariff plan was needed, criticizing imports from Canada and Mexico specifically.
In a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, Trump repeated his threat to hit the entire world with a 25% blanket tariff on steel and aluminium on February 9.
A 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports went into effect on March 12, under the umbrella of Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. This new iteration barred previous country-specific exemptions and exclusions, including for the EU, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the UK. The US had set similar tariffs in May 2018, during Trump’s first term in office (2017-2021), implementing 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium imports.
Trump signed an executive order March 26 that set a 25% tariff on all imported automobiles.
On April 2, which Trump termed as “Liberation Day,” the US President invoked his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to levy reciprocal tariffs on almost every country in the world. The reciprocal tariffs took effect April 5.
Japan’s Nippon Steel succeeded in closing its $14.9 billion bid to merge with the iconic Pittsburgh-based steelmaker US Steel after a 17-month struggle, when Trump announced on May 23 the Japanese steelmaker and US Steel would enter a “partnership,” instead of a flat-out acquisition.
On May 30, while celebrating his approval of the historic deal between Nippon and US Steel, Trump said he would double steel tariffs from 25% to 50% — partially to protect Nippon Steel’s investment.
On June 4, the Trump administration doubled general US tariffs on steel, aluminium and their derivative products from 25% to 50%.
Mexican steel advocacy group CANACERO denounced the doubling of US steel import tariffs and pointed out that steel exports from Mexico to the US in April and May plummeted by 50% after the earlier 25% tariff went into effect in March.
On August 15, the US Department of Commerce expanded the list of goods subject to these 50% tariffs, adding 407 product categories of steel and aluminium derivative products, striking a second blow to imports of metals products.
Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves — a public supporter of Trump’s tariffs — hinted during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on July 21 that the integrated company is a valuable and marketable asset.
Just a few months after steep trade tariffs being implemented, Cleveland-Cliffs idled three steel mills amid persistently weak demand, indefinitely idling its Steelton and Conshohocken facilities in Pennsylvania on June 30, along with its mill in Riverdale, Illinois.
Market participants said in August that steel prices in the US would be weaker if not artificially propped up by trade tariff pressures, as underlying demand remained depressed through most of the year.
The tariffs’ impact was felt on the US oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe sector as well, after Trump’s executive order of “Adjusting Imports of Steel Into the United States” was issued on February 10, pushing up prices amid market confusion and chaos.
By September, market sentiment had become increasingly bearish in the US OCTG and line pipe markets, with ConocoPhillips, bp and Chevron each announcing impending layoffs.
The tariff impact on the automotive sector was acute, with the “Big Three” US automakers — Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis — taking hefty hits to their bottom lines in 2025. The automotive sector consumes 40% of all flat steel output, mainly galvanized and cold-rolled coil, and is responsible for around 40-50% of demand for special bar quality long steel products, according to Phil Gibbs, metals equity analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
By mid-year, reduced demand from the US agricultural sector became a recurring issue for the steel sector, with heavy equipment manufacturer John Deere, steel distributor Russel Metals and steel processor Worthington Steel reporting poor demand and reduced shipments to the agriculture sector.
However, trade tariffs proved to be an effective driver of increasing onshoring and reshoring of manufacturing on US soil, despite heightened scrutiny from immigration officials. For example, South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group said it will invest $2.7 billion in its fully electrified vehicle and battery manufacturing plant in southeast Georgia, just two weeks after an immigration raid took place at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, where 475 workers were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on September 4.
Another example is the proposed Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, which aims to revitalize commercial ship-making capabilities in the US, which in turn is expected to boost demand for steel plate products.
In the background of “Make in America” and dwindling imports, the US and Mexico opened public consultations on the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in mid-September, as the agreement’s first joint review is coming up in July 2026. Canada launched its public consultations on what the Canadian government calls the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in August 2024. The USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the US, Canada and Mexico in 2020.
During a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the White House on October 7, Trump said the review of the USMCA could lead to separate deals being renegotiated with each country, or the overall agreement could be reviewed.
On October 20, during Cleveland-Cliffs’ third-quarter earnings call, a “strategic partner” was referenced but not identified in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by the Cleveland, Ohio-based steelmaker. On October 30, it was revealed to be POSCO, South Korea’s largest steelmaker.
Market sources heralded the partnership between Cleveland-Cliffs and POSCO as a financial lifeline for the integrated steelmaker, which posted a $234 million loss in the third quarter of 2025.
Disrupted supply chains have had a deep impact on the Canadian steel industry. For example, Sault Ste. Marie-based Algoma Steel reported a net loss of C$485.1 million ($346.83 million) in the third quarter of 2025, incurring almost C$90 million in tariff costs and taking a write-down of more than C$500 million.
The 50% tariffs effectively closed off the US markets for Algoma, a catastrophic development, as over 60% of the flat-rolled steelmaker’s 2024 revenues came from the shipment of hot-rolled coil and discrete plate to US customers. These details emerged after US Steel sued Algoma Steel on October 6 for allegedly attempting to walk away from an iron ore pellet contract, with the latter winding down its blast furnace operations due to the impact of 50% tariffs imposed by the US government against Canadian steel imports.
Trump called off trade negotiations with Canada on October 23, in response to the Government of Ontario releasing an advertisement that featured remarks from former US President Ronald Reagan that criticized trade tariffs. Two days later, Trump slapped an additional 10% tariffs on Canada.
Ontario — Canada’s most populous province and its largest regional economy — has suffered heavily because of the US trade tariffs. Automaker Stellantis said on October 15 it plans to double its production in the US over the next four years at a cost of $13 billion, a news that blindsided Canadian leaders, as ultimately the US investment will come at a cost to Stellantis’ Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant, which is at risk of losing 3,000 jobs.
Additionally, General Motors said on October 21 it will halt production of its electric commercial vans at its assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, due to weak electric vehicle (EV) demand, evolving EV regulations and the elimination of tax credits in the US.
Overall, auto manufacturers have funneled millions of dollars in US facilities to expand the companies’ manufacturing presence on US soil.
Unsurprisingly, US domestic steel producers unanimously applauded the benefits of 50% Section 232 tariffs, which have largely curtailed import competition.
Tellingly, Nippon Steel cut the profit forecast of its subsidiary US Steel in the Japanese steelmaker’s first-half 2025 earnings on November 5, due to the “significant decline in the US steel market, one-time cost deterioration caused by facility troubles and other factors and the high uncertainty in the US market.”
On November 5, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments to determine the legality of tariffs Trump invoked in April under IEEPA. Lower courts have ruled that Trump exceeded his authority under both the statute and the US Constitution, as the power to set tariffs is traditionally assigned to the US Congress.
Some of the reciprocal tariffs implemented under IEEPA have been reduced subsequently after countries and trading blocs reached new bilateral trade agreements with the US. For example, it was announced on August 21 that under a trade framework deal negotiated in July, the US would set 15% tariffs against most European goods exported to the US. On September 24, the Commerce Department and the US Trade Representative’s office said in a Federal Register notice they amended the tariff schedule and set EU automotive import tariffs at 15% as well. Steel and aluminium tariffs remain at 50%.
In another example, Japan and the US reached a trade agreement on July 23, under which Japan will pay a reduced 15% duty on automotives made in Japan and shipped to the US, a reduction from the 25% tariff rate. Sectoral tariffs on imports of Japanese steel remain at 50%.
Investor mogul Wilbur Ross, who served as US Secretary of Commerce in Trump’s first term, said in an interview with Fastmarkets on November 11 the Supreme Court was likely to deliver a split decision on tariffs.
Merger and acquisition activity in the steel processing and distribution sector heated up this year: Toronto-based metals distributor Russel Metals said on September 29 it has entered into an agreement to acquire seven US-based seven service centers from Kloeckner Metals Corporation, in a deal that cost the Canadian processor approximately $119 million but is expected to grow its US revenue footprint to more than 50%.
Value-added processor and distributor Ryerson Holding and metals service center Olympic Steel said on October 28 they had entered into a definitive agreement to merge. This merger will create a $6.5 billion giant and become the second largest service center in North America.
On December 6, news broke that steel processor Worthington Steel was in talks with German metals company Kloeckner & Co for a “voluntary public takeover” of the latter.
Separate from the pain caused to Canada, the protectionist trade policies of the US have inspired the EU and Brazil to tighten their borders, with the European Commission proposing a reform of its steel import safeguard system in October, including a 47% cut in tariff-free quotas and a 50% ad valorem duty on volumes exceeding those thresholds.
Brazilian steel producers see the EU’s proposed import safeguard measures as a sign that the South American country should implement similar policies, Brazilian steel association Aço Brasil told Fastmarkets in October. Brazil renewed and expanded a series of anti-dumping duties in October that cover nearly all major flat steel categories, which has significantly increased the cost of Asia-origin imports and prompted traders across South America to halt or delay new bookings.
Despite these measures, there were increasing reports of Chinese steel allegedly entering Brazil with mislabeled material, falsified quality grades and manipulated documentation in October 2025.
In November, delegates at the 2025 Alacero Summit in Cartagena, Colombia, reiterated that Chinese exports remain the single largest threat to the Latin American steel industry. Former Mexican ambassador to China Jorge Guajardo said at the Alacero Summit that Latin American countries need to adopt a more assertive stance toward Chinese imports, arguing that existing tariff structures are not sufficient to address structural distortions in China’s export model.
To learn more about the Americas steel and scrap sector in the year ahead, you can register for Fastmarkets’ annual Circular Steel Summit, January 27-29 in Houston, Texas. Additional details and the registration link can be found here.