Ekaterina Zhiriy13:00, 11.02.25

The US President believes that imports of steel products from Ukraine threaten to harm national security.

US President Donald Trump’s order to introduce a 25% duty on steel and aluminum imports will also affect Ukraine.

“I have determined that imports of steel products from Ukraine pose a threat to national security and have determined that the temporary waiver for imports of steel products and steel derivatives from Ukraine should be terminated,” the White House said in a statement .

Trump noted that in 2022, “then-President Biden recognized the close relationship with Ukraine and exempted steel products from Ukraine from tariffs.”

According to him, instead of supporting the Ukrainian steel industry and mitigating the economic damage caused by the ongoing conflict, the benefits of this temporary exemption went primarily to producers in EU member states, which significantly increased duty-free exports to the US market of steel products processed from Ukrainian steel semi-finished products.

“Since 2021, imports from Ukraine have remained stable at 0.5% of total U.S. imports, while imports from the European Union have increased by 11.2% to 14.8%,” the report said.

Ukrainian Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko stated that the introduction of the duty will have a negative impact on the metallurgical industry of our country.

“In recent years, we have made every effort to ensure that Ukrainian steel remains outside the 25% tariffs in the United States. The US decision to introduce a duty on steel from other countries, including Ukraine, from March 12 will naturally affect the metallurgical industry,” she said in a message on Facebook .

According to Sviridenko, the export of metallurgical products amounted to 57.9% of our exports to the USA – $503.3 million out of $869.1 million. The largest export goods were cast iron ($363.4 million, 940 thousand tons), pipes ($112.9 million, 92 thousand tons), rods ($15.2 million, 3.3 thousand tons), wire ($4 million, 3.9 thousand tons), metal structures ($1.3 million, 182 tons).

“At the same time, as noted in Trump’s proclamation itself, the share of Ukrainian products in steel imports to the United States is minimal and does not have a significant impact on American producers,” the minister noted.

Sviridenko emphasized that Ukraine is committed to actively working with partners to find an optimal solution by March 12.

People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak recalled that in 2018, Trump had already introduced similar duties: 25% on steel, 10% on aluminum.

According to him, imports then fell, but prices rose. Automakers such as Ford and GM, which consume such products and count losses, suffered especially

“In response to the EU tariffs, Japan and other countries hit American exports. Bourbon, jeans and motorcycle manufacturers suffered. Moreover, it hit Republican states. True, then Biden came and partially resolved the situation,” Zheleznyak wrote on his Telegram channel.

He noted that the duties introduced at that time saved American metallurgists a little, but only temporarily.

“Global competition has not disappeared, and other countries are still putting a lot of pressure on the market. Plus, China has opened offices in other countries and has bypassed tariffs,” the deputy added.

(C)UNIAN 2025