Trump Trade: EU vows ‘countermeasures’ to steel, aluminum tariffs

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

COUNTERMEASURES BY EU: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed “firm and proportionate countermeasures’ in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, Philip Blenkinsop of Reuters reports. Trump recently signed a proclamation to raise tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%, which will take effect on March 4. Publicly traded companies in the steel space include ArcelorMittal (MT), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Nucor (NUE), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and U.S. Steel (X). Companies in the aluminum space include Alcoa (AA) and Century Aluminum (CENX).

SECTION 232 TARIFFS: Century Aluminum said it “strongly supports President Donald Trump’s decisive action to strengthen Section 232 tariffs and fight back against unfair trade practices that have for years disadvantaged the U.S. primary aluminum industry.” “Today’s executive order implements a 25% tariff on all primary aluminum imports into the U.S. from all foreign countries and closes a loophole in the existing tariff that allowed nearly 75% of imports to avoid the tariff,” the company said. “Closing these loopholes will protect good American jobs and our national security.”

LIMITED IMPACT ON ALUMINUM MARKET: After initially proposing 25% tariffs on U.S. aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico, President Donald Trump is now proposing 25% tariffs on all aluminum imports, with UBS noting to investors that the U.S. imports 80% of the primary aluminum it consumes. With the U.S. accounting for roughly 6% of global primary aluminum demand, the firm believes potentially tariffs are unlikely to materially impact global supply and demand dynamics and the LME aluminum price. Companies in the aluminum space include Alcoa and Century Aluminum.

RECIPROCAL TARIFFS: President Donald Trump could announce reciprocal tariffs as soon as today on major trading partners after instituting blanket levies of 25% on steel and aluminum imports yesterday, NBC News reports.

OTHER NEWS: Dominari Holdings (DOMH) announces that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have joined the company’s Board of Advisors. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump also participated in the recently announced private placement in the company.