Trump plans to roll back tariffs on steel and aluminium goods after price pressure

President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of up to 50% on steel and aluminium imports in mid-2025 and later expanded the levies to a broader set of finished goods that contain those metals, including household appliances. The people familiar said the administration is now considering narrowing the product lists, pausing further expansion and shifting toward more targeted national-security investigations for specific goods.

Trade officials at the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have raised concerns internally that the tariff regime has become difficult to administer and is hitting everyday products such as pie tins and food and beverage cans, the people familiar said. One person described the system as too complicated to enforce and in need of simplification.

The potential easing comes as the White House faces political pressure over the cost of living ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections. A Pew Research Center poll published in February found more than 70% of U.S. adults rate economic conditions as fair or poor, and about 52% think Trump’s economic policies have made conditions worse. Economists have also argued that U.S. households bear a meaningful share of tariff costs, undercutting claims that foreign exporters pay the bill.

Trump has already carved out exemptions for some food products and called a truce in a trade dispute with China after retaliatory measures. His tariff agenda has also drawn opposition in Congress. On 11 February 2026, a group of Republicans joined Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote to overturn tariffs on Canada, a move Trump is expected to veto.

The metals tariffs have expanded through an inclusion process that allows domestic companies to petition for duties on rival foreign suppliers, often citing national-security grounds. The process has produced a sprawling list of affected items and inconsistent application, including cases where identical shipments were charged different rates, according to a European business leader. The Commerce Department last opened the nomination window in October 2025 and missed its own 60-day timeline to decide on new duties. The Commerce Department, USTR and the White House declined to comment.

As GNcrypto wrote on 10 February 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron urged the European Union to take a tougher line with Trump, warning that U.S. pressure over EU digital regulation could spill into tariff threats. Macron said Washington is likely to challenge Europe’s rules on major online platforms and predicted that new restrictions, including proposals to limit social media access for minors, could become a flashpoint for trade retaliation.